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Shipping companies were chasing after students with marine-related majors at a recruitment fair earlier this month at the Shanghai Maritime University (SMU). The fair lasted only an hour and a half, at which point most of the students who had attended had received job offers, though many of them will not graduate for another six months.

Xie Yiwei, a marine engineering senior, said he had spent just a few minutes talking with the recruiter from Shanghai Jinjiang Shipping Corporation, and the next day he was notified that he had been hired.

"Nearly all of my classmates who were looking for a job got offers," he said. "Finding a job does not seem to be hard for us."

Once he graduates, Xie will be responsible for repairing and maintaining ship engines.

Some companies are so hungry for talent that they started contacting students even before the recruitment fair.

"Some recruiters came to our dormitories to promote their companies, and some kept handing out business cards to us even when we were having classes," said Gao Yang, another student at SMU.

"Most of these recruiters want to attract students by publicizing the high wages they are offering," he added.

Gao, a navigation major, got a job as a ship pilot. He and his classmates have been learning techniques to steer ships and most of them will go on to become navigators and future captains.

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