中國法語畢業生赴非洲淘金 待遇豐厚環境艱苦

When Xu Jing completed her French degree, she decided not to follow in the footsteps of Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader, who worked in France in the 1920s.

當徐靜(音譯)拿到法語學位後，她決定不追隨已故中國領導人鄧小平的腳步，鄧小平曾在上世紀20年代在法國工作。

The young woman from Beijing instead joined a big Chinese construction company that she knew would send her to francophone Africa. Within a month she was in Algeria, joining the hundreds of thousands of Chinese working in Africa as part of a rapidly expanding diaspora.

這位來自北京的年輕姑娘加入了中國一家大型建築公司，她知道，公司將派她去非洲的法語國家。入職不到一個月，她就被派到了阿爾及利亞，與數十萬在非洲工作的中國人一道，成爲迅速擴大的海外華人大軍中的一員。

“In college I dreamt of going to France as people say that it’s the most romantic country in the world,” Ms Xu says. “But then I realised I can visit anytime . . . Africa, on the other hand, was different as nobody I knew had been there.”

“上大學時，我曾夢想去法國，人們說那是全世界最浪漫的國度，”徐靜表示，“但後來我意識到法國什麼時候去都可以……但非洲不一樣，我認識的人都沒有去過那裏。”

Several years ago her choice – which included abandoning a possible career at a television channel – would have been unorthodox for French graduates, who like most university-educated Chinese sought “iron rice bowl” jobs that guaranteed lifetime employment.

在法語畢業生中間，她這樣的選擇（包括放棄一個有望在電視臺工作的機會）放在幾年前會被視爲另類——與多數中國大學畢業生一樣，法語畢業生也希望找到一個“鐵飯碗”。

Beijing Foreign Studies University, one of China’s premier language colleges, says the number of its French graduates who take jobs in Africa has more than doubled from about 14 per cent in 2004 to about a third in recent years.

中國知名語言學院之一北京外國語大學(Beijing Foreign Studies University)稱，該校近十來年赴非洲工作的法語畢業生增加了一倍多，佔比從2004年的約14%增至最近幾年的三分之一左右。

Chinese companies with operations in Africa now hire more BFSU graduates than the government bodies that offer traditionally coveted jobs. The trend has also been propelled by a tight labour market for graduates, which has been exacerbated by the slowing Chinese economy.

如今，在非洲設有業務的中國企業聘用的北外畢業生數量超過了政府機構，政府機構會提供傳統上令人垂涎的工作。這一趨勢還受到緊張的畢業生就業市場的推動，而中國經濟放緩加劇了應屆生就業市場的緊張狀況。

“Our students would turn their noses up at jobs in Africa before. They were scared by the harsh conditions and, if they had a choice, would rather not go,” says Wang Kun, vice-dean of BFSU’s French department. “But after the financial crisis, they are more willing to work in Africa because it is harder to find a good job in China.”

“以前我們的學生看不起非洲的工作。他們害怕艱苦的環境，如果有選擇的話，他們寧願不去，”北外法語系副主任王鯤表示，“但在此次金融危機之後，他們去非洲工作的意願增強了，因爲在國內找到一份好工作更難了。”

French graduates are also benefiting from a rapid expansion of Sino-African economic ties. Chinese direct investment in Africa rose from $1.44bn in 2009 to $2.52bn in 2012, an annual increase of 20 per cent, according to the government. There are 2,500 Chinese enterprises with operations in China, up from 800 in 2006.

法語畢業生還受益於中非經濟關係迅速擴張。根據政府數據，中國對非洲的直接投資從2009年的14.4億美元增至2012年的25.2億美元，年增速達到20%。目前有2500家中國企業在非洲設有業務，2006年僅爲800家。

Chinese companies are also luring workers with better salaries than those available in China. Mr Wang says new graduates can earn up to Rmb200,000 ($32,000) a year in Africa, more than six times the average salary of Rmb30,000 for new college hires in China.

中國企業還憑藉高於國內水平的薪資吸引員工赴非工作。王鯤表示，應屆畢業生在非洲的年收入多的可達20萬元人民幣(合3.2萬美元)，是中國應屆畢業生平均薪資（3萬元人民幣）的6倍多。

The rising demand for French speakers has helped boost the number of Chinese universities offering the language as a major from 31 to 132 over the past decade. According to the Chinese Association of French Teaching, the number of university undergraduates studying for French degrees rose fivefold to 20,000 over the same period.

過去10年，隨着對法語人才的需求升溫，開設法語專業的中國高校數量從31所升至132所。根據中國法語教學研究會(Chinese Association of French Teaching)，同期內，攻讀法語學位的大學本科生數量增加5倍，達到2萬人。

This in turn has sparked an increase in the number of Chinese who study in France. The French embassy in Beijing estimates that China will overtake Morocco as the prime source of foreign students in France next year.

這進而促使中國赴法國留學的學生數量增加。法國駐北京大使館估計，中國明年將取代摩洛哥，成爲法國國際學生的主要來源。

While some universities are trying to capitalise on the new Africa trend, others are slower to change. Shen Guanglin, a French professor at Chengdu Institute Sichuan International Studies University, says elite universities focus too much on French literature and history, and overlook the fact that Africa is becoming the biggest workplace for students.

儘管一些大學正設法利用這股新出現的非洲熱，但還有一些大學對於這一變化的反應較慢。四川外國語大學成都學院(Chengdu Institute Sichuan International Studies University)法語系教授沈光臨表示，一流大學過於注重法國文學和歷史，它們忽視了這樣一個事實：非洲正變成學生們最大的工作地。

“It’s impossible for us to compete with top universities. Our students are not as good as theirs . . . so we have to create our own strengths,” Mr Shen says.

沈光臨表示：“我們不可能與一流大學競爭。我們的學生不如他們優秀……因此我們必須打造我們自己的優勢。”

He says his institute has introduced a more practical curriculum that focuses on areas such as engineering, technology and foreign trade.

他表示，成都學院推出了更爲實用的課程，着重於工程、技術和外貿等領域。

The move appears to have been successful. Last year 93 per cent of his students had secured jobs by the time of their graduation, almost the same rate as students at much more elite universities such as BFSU. Meanwhile, companies flock to the institute seeking students of French, rather than the other way round as in the past. Half of his graduates ended up working for big Chinese companies with operations in Africa.

此舉似乎已取得成效。去年，他的學生93%在畢業前找到了工作，幾乎與北外等一流大學的就業率不相上下。同時，企業紛紛到該學院尋找法語學生，而不是像過去那樣學生追着企業跑。他所教的畢業生中，有一半最後都供職於在非洲設有業務的中國大企業。

After graduating from the Institute in 2010, Gao Yunchuan went to Niger to work for Sinohydro, China’s largest dam-builder, swiftly rising from intern to deputy general manager.

2010年從成都學院畢業後，高雲川(音譯)赴尼日爾爲中國最大的大壩建造商——中國水電(Sinohydro)工作，很快從實習生升任副總經理。

“I never thought that one day I would work in Africa,” Mr Gao says. “I had only seen Africa on maps.”

“我從未想過有一天我會在非洲工作，”高雲川表示，“我只在地圖上看到過非洲。”

While Mr Gao, who comes from a remote rural part of Sichuan province, has to endure an extremely hot and dry climate in Niger, life is made easier by the fact he earned Rmb240,000 last year.

儘管來自四川偏遠農村地區的高雲川必須忍受尼日爾極爲炎熱和乾燥的氣候，但去年24萬元人民幣的收入讓他的生活變得輕鬆了一些。

“My friends told me I would earn a fortune in Africa but I had no idea it would be so much,” he says. “My monthly living expenses at college were just Rmb500.”

“我的朋友們告訴我會在非洲賺大錢的，但我不知道會賺這麼多，”他表示，“我在大學時每月的生活費只有500元人民幣。”