Reported in Hefei on September 12, 2025
On a certain recruitment platform, a silicone company offered an annual salary of up to 3 million yuan for a "chief scientist", but it still shows as "under recruitment". This talent competition reflects the deep anxiety of industry transformation: as organosilicon transitions from traditional chemical industry to high-end manufacturing, the talent gap has become the biggest bottleneck restricting development.
Imbalance in Talent Structure: The 'Fault' at the Top of the Pyramid
According to the statistics of China Fluorosilicon Organic Materials Industry Association, the talent gap in the industry will reach 42000 people by 2025, of which 68% will be high-end R&D talents. What we lack is not operators, but scientists who can design molecular structures, "said the HR director of a listed company. The quantum silicon material project that the company plans to invest in has been delayed for six months due to a lack of theoretical computing talents.
This gap is particularly evident in salary. Data shows that the average starting salary for master's graduates in the silicone industry is 280000 yuan per year, an increase of 120% compared to 2020; Doctoral researchers with over 5 years of experience have a median annual salary exceeding 800000 yuan, and some companies even provide equity incentives to compete for talent.
The disconnect between industry, academia and research: universities' training lags behind the industry
There is a gap between the curriculum design of universities and the demand of industries in the 3-5 years, "admitted the dean of a 985 university's School of Materials Science. Currently, the organic silicon major is still mainly focused on polymerization technology and formula design, while courses such as quantum computing simulation and biomedical materials that are urgently needed in the industry have not yet been popularized. This disconnect has forced companies to establish their own training systems, with a leading enterprise investing over 20 million yuan annually in employee re education.
Innovative practices to solve the dilemma are emerging. The Organic Silicon Industry College jointly established by Jiangxi Yongxiu and East China University of Science and Technology adopts a "dual mentor system" to cultivate talents: students study basic theories in universities for the first two years, and participate in practical project research and development in enterprises for the second two years. Graduates trained under this model are able to undertake research and development tasks immediately upon employment, and are warmly welcomed by enterprises.
Global Talent Acquisition: Building a 'Talent Enclave'
Faced with a shortage of domestic talents, leading enterprises have begun to layout overseas research and development centers. The advanced materials laboratory established by Wacker Chemie in Munich has attracted 12 Nobel laureates to join; A Chinese company acquired a core R&D team of 27 people through the acquisition of Bio Med Sciences in the United States. These 'talent enclaves' not only bring cutting-edge technology, but also build a global innovation network.
In the next three years, the industry will enter the 'talent driven' stage. A report from a consulting firm predicts that companies with global talent integration capabilities will occupy the technological high ground, while companies lacking talent may become contract factories. This war without gunpowder is determining the future pattern of China's silicone industry.
