BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Qinghuachi, a time-honored Beijing-based bathhouse famous for its pedicure services, tried for the first time to recruit university students during the past three-day holiday and although it offers monthly salaries ranging from 7,000 yuan to more than
10,000 yuan, students would rather give up the high-paying job than lose face. So far, no students have applied, according to a report by Beijing Daily.
As its traditional pedicure skills have been included on the list of intangible cultural heritages in Beijing, Qinghuachi took the opportunity of the Dragon Boat Festival to recruit. It has held a series of job fairs at Renmin University and will probably visit other universities after June 18.
The bathhouse planned to recruit initiates in the art of pedicure from university students and establish a practice base at the School of Business under Renmin University. Students can also go directly to Qinghuachi if they need hands-on experience and want to intern there.
"The purpose of selecting technicians from college students is to improve the overall education level and professional competence of pedicure technicians so the traditional pedicure craft will be better protected and successfully handed down to future generations," said Qinghuachi's General Manager Cao Dongbing.
According to Cao, this recruitment campaign is mainly targeted at graduates with either a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree, and any student can apply regardless of major as long as he or she is interested in pedicures. In addition, those who have some medical knowledge are preferred.
An employee said that most pedicure technicians at Qinghuachi are only secondary school graduates who have failed to enter higher education, so university graduates are badly needed. An average pedicure technician can earn 7,000 to 8,000 yuan per month, and mid-level and senior technicians' monthly income can even reach 10,000 yuan.
"It would be extremely humiliating if others found that I worked as a pedicure technician after graduating from Renmin University, one of the most prestigious universities in China. My family will definitely not agree, neither will I," said a prospective senior student.
Admittedly, she said, the salary is remarkably attractive but she would rather work as an office clerk and earn only 2,000 yuan per month.
Reporters learned from Qinghuachi's recruiters that although they have received some internship applications, all of them applied for management positions and no one wants to be a pedicure technician.
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(Source: People's Daily Online)
