ABSTRACT
Channels of recruitment A recent study found that information about the opportunities provided by migration came mostly from relatives (48.2 per cent) and friends (41.9 per cent) (Scharping et al., 1997:50). These two groups provided the basic social network not only for the chain migration from the home area but also for finding and changing jobs in South China. Thanks to the help of relatives and friends, most find jobs immediately upon arrival. This emerging social network ensures both emotional and economic assistance and is not unlike those previously established by migrants who left their qiaoxiang for overseas destinations in years goneby. I have found that most migrants spent their free time with people of common origin. They also kept close contact with relatives and friends at home through regular visits and remittances (Huang, 1997). Mass migration of labourers into ‘overseas Chinese villages’ in South China has been an important phenomenon from the early 1980s onward. Although many studies have noted that most of the migrant workers are young, female, and of peasant origin, little attention has been paid to the problems specific to their training and management.
