PROPERLY trained domestic helpers will be licensed at different levels to satisfy different demands in the market.

The reform was announced by Shenzhen Home Service Association, which was founded Tuesday to discipline and develop the domestic-help industry.

Maids were traditionally regarded as inferior and the home service industry had long been a weak industry, according to Li Ding, former vice chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.

"Now things will change after the establishment of the association, which safeguards the interests of the business, the employers and the maids," said Li.

The association will introduce a self-discipline system to coordinate, guide and monitor the operations of home service companies, according to Zhang Tieyi, one of the founders of the association.

It would also serve as a think-tank in setting strategic development plans for the industry, said Li Ding.

Statistics show that there are about 200 legally registered home service companies in Shenzhen with about 50,000 workers. Most of the workers are barely educated and come from remote, undeveloped country areas.

The demand for high quality maids is surging in Shenzhen. Some businesses, like Atophome owned by a college-graduate couple, began to hire well-educated housekeepers with college backgrounds to satisfy demanding employers. This practice and the maid licensing system are regarded as measures to compete with the potential inflow of international maids after China's accession to the WTO.

Editor: Liao Ming