Domestic helpers are trained to take care babies at a company. (Photo/Beijing Youth)
(ECNS) -- More housekeeping companies in Beijing are hiring people directly from poverty-stricken areas as the capital experiences a shortage of 400,000 to 500,000 domestic helpers, Beijing Youth reported.
The caregiver supply to demand ratio is currently about 1-to-8, with skilled helpers for new mothers, babies and the elderly in high demand.
A manager from Ayilaile.com, a housekeeper agency, said new mothers need to reserve a nanny at the time they learn they are pregnant, whereas in the past they could wait until three months before birth.
Data shows nannies earn about 4,500 yuan ($705) to 7,000 yuan a month while experienced caregivers can get up to 30,000 yuan.
Fu Yansheng, vice chairman of China Home Service Association and president of the housekeeping agency Guanjiabang, said Beijing's housekeeping market will grow about 20-30 percent with the rising demand fueled by better financial conditions and an aging society.
To ensure a stable supply of caregivers, Ayilaile signed deals with 80 operations in Chengcheng County of Shaanxi Province, Qianshan County of Anhui Province and other regions, and also opened a training school in central Wuhan City.
Aibeijia, which provides mother and baby services, also entered agreements with Tangxian County in Hebei Province, Lyuliang County in Shanxi Province and Fuxin City to recruit domestic helpers.
At a school organized by Guanjiabang, teachers from Beijing trained locals from poor families to master skills ranging from using garment steamers to moving elderly people to a wheelchair. Experts said nannies from poor regions also need to overcome their sense of inferiority when working in fast-paced Beijing.
Fu also said the developing housekeeping industry can be an effective solution to poverty in underdeveloped regions.
