Follow the northern lights

JOB SEEKERS IN the electronic manufacturing sector who want to put their careers on the fast track should be prepared to look for opportunities beyond the Pearl River Delta.

That is the message from Surface Mount Technology Holdings (SMT), a leading maker of printed circuit boards, which has chosen sites in northern China for the next phase of its corporate expansion. This decision reflects a clearly discernible industry trend, prompted by rising labour costs in Guangdong and higher energy prices for factory operations.

SMT's main manufacturing base will still be in Dongguan, but the plant in Suzhou will expand to 110,000 sqft and two new facilities will open. One will be in Tianjin in 2008 and the other, including a manufacturing plant and a research and development facility for automotive electronics, opens in Changchun next year.

The company now has a headcount of more than 12,000, around 150 of whom are based in Hong Kong. The plan is to hire 10 non-mainland residents for positions at the new factories to get things up and running.

Most Hong Kong job seekers who consider working on the mainland are reluctant to move beyond the Pearl River Delta, according to Chan Kei-biu, SMT chairman and managing director. However, this is where many of the opportunities for fast growth lie in the industry.

Managers, senior engineers and project managers will be recruited. Most positions will be in Suzhou, Changchun and Tianjin. Professor Chan said it was especially important to find people for positions in Changchun and Tianjin, where SMT had to build its labour base from the ground up. The company wants younger staff with five years' or more hands-on experience in the electronics manufacturing industry.