Tech firms ramp up AI talent recruitment

Shen Wenhan, a 30-year-old who has obtained a doctoral degree in wireless communication from Queen Mary University of London, will be formally employed with Chinese technology heavyweight Baidu Inc in July after finishing his internship as an algorithm engineer there.

During his internship, Shen and his team have been working on the research and development of an artificial intelligence application platform.

"By participating in the algorithm iteration of AI-powered products, I have not only gained a deeper understanding about how large models' algorithm can be applied to businesses, but also rapidly improved my professional skills," Shen said.

Shen added that he has received all-round training through online courses, training centers and one-on-one guidance from senior engineers of the company.

He said this internship experience has made him more rigorous and comprehensive while formulating queries, and that it has enhanced his abilities in terms of technology, communication and teamwork.

Like Shen, several fresh graduates are participating in key projects and taking on important positions during their internships, before accepting formal positions at enterprises. They are the "reserve forces" of talent recruitment that enterprises are attaching great importance to these days.

Creating jobs and maintaining stable employment are government priorities amid a complicated international environment.

Data from the Ministry of Education show that the number of college graduates in China is likely to reach 12.22 million in 2025, an increase of 430,000 from last year.

With a new round of scientific and technological revolution sweeping across various industries, Chinese technology companies have ramped up efforts to recruit talent engaged in AI and stabilize employment, given that cutting-edge digital technologies have become a key driving force of industrial upgrades and job structure transformation.

Baidu has said that it will train an additional 10 million AI experts over the next five years to benefit society and create more employment opportunities.

In a significant move to nurture future tech talent, it will offer 21,000 internship positions for outstanding campus candidates over the next three years, and continue to strengthen the training of interns, so as to further improve the intern-to-full-time employee conversion rate.

Baidu has offered more than 3,000 summer internship positions to students, with 87 percent of these centered around AI-related fields, including large language models, machine learning and autonomous driving. It will start its management trainee program and AIDU initiative this year, aiming to recruit top campus talent in the AI field, and foster future leaders in the AI era.

Currently, dozens of outstanding management trainees are deeply involved in the company's core business and innovative development of AI, and over 100 doctoral degree holders have participated in innovative research in fields such as robotics, autonomous driving, deep learning and large models.