Applications for civil service test down, but competition still fierce

Applicants who qualified for Beijing's civil service examination fell sharply this year due to stricter requirements on candidates' working experience.

Just 58,541 will sit the 2011 test, compared to 83,000 last year, according to data released by the capital's human resource and examination center.

However, with 4,189 vacancies up for grabs across all government departments, the odds are still stacked against those who made the grade, with only 1 in 14 set to end up with a position.

The decline in numbers this year is in no way "a sign that the popularity of civil servant jobs is on the wane", said Li Yongxin, chief researcher at Offcn.com, an education organization specializing in training for civil servant exams. He suggested that the main reason for the decline is the strict demand for working experience.

Roughly 32 percent of all 2011 vacancies have been reserved for candidates with more than two years' work experience, while the rest are open only to fresh college graduates.

According to Song Guilun, secretary of the Beijing Social Work Committee, the government's stricter qualification criteria is aimed at recruiting more people with a greater understanding about society, particularly those with experience at a grassroots level.

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"In previous years, people with about one year of work experience made up half of the applicants for the civil service exam," Li told METRO.

This year, however, was also the first in which students educated at universities outside of Beijing were allowed to apply.

Among the most popular positions up for grabs was as an information manager with the Haidian district development and reform commission, which received 420 applicants. Candidates competing for several other posts also had a 300:1 of success, including in cultural management in Haidian and taxation services in Tongzhou district.

"All these popular positions are less demanding when it comes to majors and degrees, but they are good in terms of welfare," said Li at Offcn.com.

The Public Security Bureau, which is looking for 1,760 new recruits for its police force, attracted 7,550 applicants, while the Haidian urban management administration's 30 vacancies received 2,120.

Officials revealed that the website set up for exam hopefuls to register crashed after more than 8 million visitors logged on during the seven-day application period. As a result, the deadline was pushed back by one day to March 12.