China’s crayfish craze makes vocational training a winner
- First graduates of specialist course in the crustaceans in high demand from employers
- The species, originally from Louisiana in the US, was long regarded as an invasive pest but is now a popular snack
China’s first batch of students to major in crayfish – small, freshwater crustaceans which resemble lobsters – have been snapped up by employers, months before they are due to graduate this summer.
While most senior college students are in the middle of job search season, every crayfish specialist preparing to graduate from the two-year course run by a vocational college in Hubei province, central China, has already been offered employment –ahead of the usual on-campus recruiting drive, the Beijing Youth Daily reported over the weekend.
Gong Dingrong, mayor of Qianjiang city – China’s crayfish trading hub – said all the students had found well-paying jobs, with large restaurant chains, logistics companies and crayfish wholesale markets.
Gong said the going monthly rate for a crayfish cook with three years’ experience was between 30,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan (US$4,460 and $7,440).
Jianghan Art Vocational College attracted national attention in 2017 when it launched the specialist crayfish school, which so far has attracted 130 students. The college, based in Qianjiang, is planning to expand enrolments to 200 this year, with new subjects, including crayfish farming, in addition to current courses on crayfish cooking, restaurant management and marketing.
