Now, an auction for domestic help in Beijing

BEIJING - It’s good news for those in China who crave for domestic help. A housekeeping firm and an auction company here will soon conduct the country’s first auction of domestic help.

The 10 housekeepers who will be the lots at the auction next month will have at least a college education, said Song Rui, general manager of Sichuan province-based Chuanmeizi Housekeeping Co. Ltd.

Song’s company would pick and train 30 applicants and select the best 10 from those to take part in the auction, Xinhua reported. Men can also apply.

The domestic helpers will earn at least 40,000 yuan ($6,000) a year, he said.

Bidders at the auction might “end up paying a lot more” because there was a huge demand for housekeepers in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, he added.

Domestic helpers in China usually earn around 2,000 yuan a month.

He said those who make the grade must have a useful college major and other skills, so that they can also help with early childhood education and medical support as well as fulfill the roles of personal assistants and family secretaries.

Cooking meals and doing the laundry will not be major tasks for the helpers.

Li Jia, 21, who majored in housekeeping from the Urban Vocational College of Sichuan, hopes to be among the top 10 at the auction.

“I think college students who choose the career of a domestic helper can not only put what they have learned in college into practice, but can also earn a comparatively high salary compared to many other jobs.”