The open selection of civil servants is one of the important measures to focus on building a high-quality professional civil servant team and to increase the training and selection of cadres from the grassroots.
However, in specific operations, due to strict age conditions and "one size fits all" restrictions, in some places there have been "willing people can't go, newly trained ones can't keep", "second-time selection of the best and stuck with outstanding grassroots cadres" etc. problem.
Selection, selection, when will 35 years old be no longer a barrier?
1
"No matter how good it is, it won't work if you don't meet the age"
When the minimum service period of 5 years of grassroots work was about to expire, a cadre who worked in a mountainous county in the central part decided to stay in the county. This is a little different from his original plan: "At first, I wanted to participate in the public selection, but now I find age. It has become a'hard lever', and there is basically no chance after 35 years of age."
Many grassroots cadres introduced that open selection is an important way to promote the flow of personnel between grassroots and higher-level agencies, and it is also a way for higher-level agencies to select grassroots talents, but there are often clear requirements for age.
In recent years, 35 years old has gradually become a hurdle.
The Banyuetan reporter found that relevant regulations are directly written into the "application scope and conditions" for selection in many places.
In a province in central China, when the provincial agencies select civil servants in 2020, they will list a total of 97 plans for 52 positions below the first-level chief staff and equivalent levels in 21 provincial-level units.
The selection announcement clearly pointed out that-except for the special age requirements for publicly selected positions, the age should not exceed 35 years old (born after September 3, 1984).
Among them, the applicants apply for the selected positions specifically for the selection and transfer of students. The applicants are currently township-level deputy or third-level, fourth-level chief staff and equivalent levels, and are under 32 years old (born after September 3, 1987); Those who are currently at the level of a staff member or below, and are under the age of 29 (born after September 3, 1990).
"Even no matter how good it is, it won't work if the age is not correct." A grassroots cadre working in the cultural system in the Dabie Mountain area calculated an account for Banyue Tan reporter: If a cadre is over 30 years old to become a grassroots civil servant, follow In the Regulations on Positioning and Grading, "the minimum service period of newly hired civil servants in the agency is five years" and other regulations, after the expiration of the service period, they have already lost the qualification to participate in the selection.
"This is equivalent to shutting out some people directly, leaving them no chance to enter a higher platform through selection."
In this way, the public selection was supposed to be the "second selection" in the recruitment of civil servants, but because of the stricter age restrictions, it stopped a group of grassroots cadres in advance.
2
"Those who are willing can't go, those who have just been trained can't keep them"
The age limit makes "the willing ones cannot go" and also exacerbates the problem of "the ones just trained can't keep".
A certain county-level city in the central region is one of the top 100 counties (cities) in the county economy. The working conditions are slightly better than those of ordinary counties (cities). However, the director of the Science and Technology Bureau still frankly said that in recent years, "cannot retain people": "Some are young Cadres worry about being stuck in the grassroots for a long time and will not be able to sink. Often they take the exam and leave just after the minimum service period is over."
A post-80s cadre who successfully passed the selection to enter the provincial department in 2019 introduced that the reason why many young civil servants can’t "rest at ease" when working at the grassroots level is that too strict and low age requirements are a very important practical reason. .
"Before the expiration of the service, you must prepare a long time in advance, otherwise you will be worried that if you fail to pass the exam, you may be restricted by the corresponding age requirements, and it will be more difficult to have the opportunity in the future."
In some places, in addition to 35 years old, the selection "threshold" for 32 years old, 30 years old, or 29 years old is clarified according to different positions.
Seeing all the "hard requirements" in terms of age, some newly recruited grassroots civil servants put their focus on preparing for the exam early: "When you go to the grassroots, you are not thinking about how to work better, but about how to keep enough for preparation. time."
For some young civil servants, participating in the selection is to show themselves on a higher platform, display their talents, and also want to solve some practical difficulties.
A female cadre from a township in Shandong Province said that she and her husband lived apart for a long time. Once, the two-and-a-half-year-old child at home had a fever and started to have convulsions. She could only pack things alone and take the child to the hospital.
"Participating in the selection may be the only way to reunite the family. The 35-year-old restriction greatly reduces the chance."
3
Can the age limit be appropriately relaxed?
As a cross-government level, cross-work department system, and cross-regional competitive selection, the selection of civil servants can help solve the problems of a single source of party and government cadres, a relatively simple experience, and an unreasonable quality structure. Has been concerned by all parties.
Some cadres interviewed confessed to the Banyuetan reporter that for grassroots cadres around the age of 35, they have often experienced years of training at the grassroots level, are familiar with the real situation of the grassroots, and are energetic and motivated.
Strictly setting the “one size fits all” requirement under the age of 35 will directly limit the “rising” possibility of some outstanding cadres who are just over 35 years old. It is recommended that the age requirements for selection be appropriately relaxed.
In fact, as to how the 35-year-old standard was determined, in some places, the relevant officials of the provincial departments who participated in the selection work also expressed "unexplainable."
Some cadres believe that "it may be the reference to the relevant age of the'young people' to delineate the interval, or the cross-referencing of various places, and it has gradually become the norm."
According to Du Zhizhang, deputy dean of the National Governance Research Institute of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, at present, some provinces and cities in China have adjusted their age requirements to under 40 when they are directly selected by the provinces (cities). The actual implementation of the grassroots level has been very good.
"The key to selecting talents is to seek truth from facts, and the actual effect of the selection work cannot be compromised because of age restrictions."
Experts believe that in recent years, the central government has vigorously advocated efforts to select cadres and good people, and establish a scientific and effective mechanism for selecting and appointing talents. The selection of talents is not based on votes, points, GDP, and age. Only the requirements are pointing out the direction for the selection of cadres in the new era. All localities should also think about how to better implement the "not only age" requirements when carrying out the selection work, so that more cadres can benefit.
At the same time, it has also made adjustments to the unreasonable "age threshold" and other employment restrictions in social recruitment.
Liang Jianqiang Yan Xiangling