Government and Policy

China govt recruitment in shake-up

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-31 11:15

BEIJING - For years, getting an office job in the national or provincial government had been the most sought-after career for China's college graduates. Stable, well-paid and coming with considerable clout, the job promised to be more than just an "iron rice bowl."

But the door to this golden career is now closing.

Acting on a new directive, governments across China are slashing the recruitment of fresh university graduates to allow experienced officials from lower ranks to be promoted.

"The vacancies are few and there are many restrictions, but at least we see hope," said Ye Huan, 27, who applied online for a position in the finance department of Henan's provincial government.

Ye has been working for a county-level government in Henan for four years since he graduated from college. Now, feeling confident at his job, Ye is vying for a job with more responsibility, something he had not previously even dreamed of.

Related readings:  More grads willing to work for free: Poll  Changing market leaves many grads without jobs  Government workers lose 'iron bowl'  iron-bowl jobs

"If it were not for the new directive, grass-roots officials would rarely get the chance to be promoted and move into the provincial government, no matter how hard you worked," Ye said.

College graduates with academic results had topped the government recruitment list for more than a decade ago when college-educated officials were rare.

In recent years, though, as higher education has become more accessible, college graduates have filled the ranks at grassroots governments and have grown eager to climb the career ladder.

Official data show about 92 percent of the 1.35 million qualified candidates applied for government posts this year have bachelor's degrees.

Analysts say without career prospects, few capable job-seekers are willing to work at the grassroots level of government. Complaints about inexperienced bookworms bossing grassroots old-hands around have also surged.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security last year issued a directive ordering governments to raise the proportion of employees with at least two years' work experience at the grassroots level -- largely referring to government and Party units in counties, villages, communities or sub-district offices.

Yin Weimin, the human resources minister, told reporters selecting civil servants from countryside and communities for higher positions in the government is "on the top of the ministry's agenda."

Fresh college graduates, Yin said, are being encouraged to work at the grassroots level instead.

About 120,000 people entered the government payroll in 2009. Sixty percent of the new hires at the provincial-government level had experience at the grassroots level of government.

Yin did not say what percentage of experienced recruits the government wants among new recruits.

A survey by China Youth Daily earlier this year showed only 17 percent of respondents consider holding a high diploma a criterion for civil servants while 59 percent agreed new hires should have grassroots experience.

"The new directive not only enables higher-level governments to recruit people who are capable and experienced, it also provides incentive for people working at the lower-level of government," Liu Wanzeng, an official in charge of human resources in Henan's Sanmenxia City, told Xinhua.