Jobs in education are among the favorite choices of Chinese students returning from overseas study, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Even though finance-related jobs continue to attract returnees at a high rate, 31.24 percent, education has gained popularity. Currently, 11.72 percent of those who come back to China with a degree from another country seek work in the sector, according to the Chinese Blue Book on the Employment of Overseas Returnees.

The report, based on polls of hundreds of thousands of Chinese students who returned from overseas in 2013, was released by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, an organization under the Ministry of Education.

From 1978 to 2013, 3.1 million Chinese studied abroad, according to the ministry, and 1.44 million came back after graduating. In 2013, more than 350,000 graduates returned.

The report ranked education second among industries most attractive to the returnees, followed by information and software service (8.13 percent), manufacturing (7.22 percent), culture and sports (5.19 percent) and scientific research (4.29 percent).

Sun Jianming, director of the center, said returnees' preference for education-related posts partly arose from the internationalization of education at domestic schools.

"We can see that now almost all schools in China, whether universities, secondary schools or primary schools, would like to hire teachers with overseas study experience, which attracts certain numbers of overseas returnees," he said.

An increasing number of returnees are landing jobs in private education or training organizations—areas that are booming, as people attach greater importance to education and spend more time and money on it, he said.

Private organizations are evolving from simple teaching institutes to comprehensive education agencies that provide a range of services, including consulting on overseas study.

"In these organizations, staff members with overseas study experience are preferred," he said.

Feng Lijuan, chief consultant at 51job.com, a major recruitment website in China, agreed with Sun on private education institutions' desire to seek out overseas returnees.

"Education is one of the areas that received the most investment and capital during the past six seasons, which means a lot of new education companies opened and have offered great numbers of jobs during the past year and a half," Feng said.

She said returnees, especially those with foreign language skills and an international vision, are favored by the education companies, which usually offer better positions and salaries to those who return from abroad, compared with domestic graduates.

Despite the good situation at present, Feng still expressed concerns. "Most of these education companies are small or medium-sized ones that lack stability, and overseas returnees may not work for a long period at these institutions," she said.

STUDENTS TO HELP UK FIRMS BREAK INTO CHINESE MARKET

Chinese students studying in the UK are to be recruited by a government agency to help British companies enter the Chinese market.

Exports agency UK Trade and Investment on Tuesday launched the Great Ambassadors China program under which Chinese-speaking students will liaise with companies in Britain, helping them to understand the language, culture and the way business operates in China.

UKTI selected China as the target market for its pilot project because of the 70,000 Chinese students currently studying in Britain, the largest demographic group of overseas students in the country.

Additionally, the growing Chinese market is expected to become the largest among all emerging markets for trade and investment.

UKTI officials predict China will invest $1.25 trillion overseas over the coming 10 years.

The University of Sheffield in northern England has been chosen as the host institution for the pilot project because it boasts the largest Chinese student population in Britain, as well as one of the country's largest and most established East Asian Studies departments.

Paul White, the university's deputy vice-chancellor, said, "I am delighted that the University of Sheffield has been chosen to be the host institution for the Great Ambassadors China pilot project and am looking forward to watching the scheme grow."

White said the project will provide a wide range of long-term career benefits for students as well as leaving a lasting impact on the businesses involved.

"This scheme gives our Chinese-speaking students the unique opportunity to acquire valuable employable skills with innovative companies who are looking to develop and expand their trade links with China," added White.

Lord Livingston, the trade and investment minister, said: "China offers great opportunities for UK companies of all sizes, with growing demand for brand Britain. Chinese-speaking students can help UK businesses to overcome the linguistic and cultural barriers that could stand between them and the Chinese market."