Yan Dan is not the first college student to arrive in the capital with big dreams of landing a job that pays 40,000 yuan a year. Unlike many others, however, standing out in the crowd will not be a problem.

The 21-year-old woman is one of 10 professional housekeepers from Southwest China who will "go under the hammer" at a unique but controversial auction in Beijing on Thursday.

The event, which takes place at Tenghua Mansion in the Xizhimen area from 2 pm, will see families bid for their services, with prices starting at 40,000 yuan a year.

"Most of my classmates applied for jobs with foreign trade corporations, but I was determined to be a housekeeper," Yan, an undergraduate who majors in Business English, told METRO.

"I can do housework like cooking and cleaning, but I hope to focus more on accompanying children and teaching them."

So far, 10 families have signed up for the auction, although Zhao Xiaokai, general manager of Beijing Jiashikai International Auction House, predicted there could be as many as 30 bidders on the day.

"The application period won't close until the last minute," he added.

Organizers have spent more than a month organizing the "sale", which included selecting candidates from hundreds of hopefuls through extensive tests and interviews. The majority who passed are students at Chengdu University or Sichuan Normal University.

The final 10 arrived in the capital on Tuesday and received orientation to learn how to use the subway and where to shop for ingredients.

They also recently sat courses in Sichuan on family asset management, decoration and cuisine, said Song Rui, general manager of Chuanmeizi Housekeeper Agency, a Chengdu-based recruitment agency.

Although often referred to in the press as ayi, or nannies, he said the students are "more like private assistants", explaining that they have better educational backgrounds and more skills than ayi in their 40s and 50s. "They provide better quality services."

Song's agency has invested 5,000 yuan per student in training and transport costs, with another 5,000 yuan to be spent on social security if they find a job.

"We don't care about the high costs if they will be paid back," he said. "What we care about is that such a promotion will highlight the demands of the high-end housekeeping market."

The auction, which has been a major talking point among netizens since it was announced, could prompt more college students to adjust their sights and learn more practical skills, he said.

Tian Tao, a 22-year-old financial securities major, is one of two male housekeepers taking part. He also hopes to bring more to the profession than just cleaning. "I'd like to use my professional knowledge to provide financial invest suggestion to the family," he told METRO. "I'm both excited and nervous. I hope my boss will be an open-minded guy."

However, She Kexin, a well-known Beijing sociologist, said he feels the auction is more like a "promotion" than a "serious job fair".

"If a family is rich enough to hire such a highly paid housekeeper who hopes to be a financial consultant, the family are probably better at financial investment than their nanny," he said.

The market "should decide what kind of nanny is needed", he added. "Why argue over what defines a high-end nanny?"