Online adult education turns lucrative

[Photo: from VCG]

Quality content with a personalized touch commands premium price in a growing market driven by 'middle-class anxiety' over careers

For Chen Hua, 28, an automobile engineer in Shanghai, reading out English text aloud after taking pronunciation lessons on a mobile app has become an evening routine. Chen might skip dinner, but wouldn't trade even one language class delivered by the app for anything.

"Haven't been using English much since I left college," said Chen, who graduated from China's prestigious Tongji University in Shanghai. "I now feel the pressure to pick it up using spare time."

The "pressure" arises from a constant fear of being left behind as English-proficient peers appear to get ahead. Academic circles refer to this as "middle-class anxiety", which is gripping some sections of China's population.

In a report released by leading online recruiter Zhaopin in January, one-fourth of surveyed white-collar workers said they feel more stressed than inspired, citing reasons from volatile paychecks to gloomy career prospects.

Most important of all, many people worry that the worth and utility of their knowledge and qualifications could erode due to thriving technological progress, globalism and entrepreneurship.

"This sentiment of continuous progress is propelling young white-collar workers toward a long-term remedy: education," said Du Miaomiao, an analyst at consultancy iResearch.

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI] 

(News source: China Daily)