A SHENZHEN housekeeping company has hired 11 college students pursuing housekeeping degrees, Thursday's (Mar 9) Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The 11 domestic helpers, 10 women and one man, arrived in Shenzhen on Wednesday from Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei Province.

The 11 college students are among the first batch of 23 housekeeping majors in China, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily report said. They will work as domestic helpers after a short period of training.

The 11 students are studying at the China International Housekeeping College in Wuhan, and will graduate in June. Their course includes subjects like cooking, teaching, healthcare, nutrition and secretarial skills, the Daily report said. They have also studied foreign languages like English and Japanese, which are part of their essential training.

Feng Juexin, president of the college, said these domestic helpers were different from "nannies." "Our students would not just do common household chores as the housekeepers do," Feng said. "Their work would cover all the aspects of household management, including drawing up various kinds of plan based on the need of the household."

Feng cited some examples. "Unlike ordinary domestic helpers, our students can provide psychological counseling and simple medical care to the elderly people," the president said. "It's the same with child care. Our students can shoulder the responsibility of educating the young children."

Many universities in foreign countries have established housekeeping departments, according to Feng. In the United States, the housekeeping degree is offered by about 30 institutions of higher learning, some of which even offer post-graduate programs.

Ai Xiaoxiong, human resources director of the Zhongjia Household Service Co. Ltd. that hired the 11 students, said the monthly salary of the helpers ranges from 1,500 to 1,800 yuan (US$222.22), more than twice that of ordinary domestic helpers.

Currently, there are 300,000 domestic helpers working in Shenzhen, nearly 100,000 people short of the demand, Ai said.

Editor: Wing