Sichuan professional title foreign language proficiency levels and validity periods

There is too much content; only a portion of it is provided here. Everyone should download the full version to read it themselves. Notice from the Sichuan Province Professional Title Reform Working Group regarding the adjustment of the standards for foreign language tests for professional and technical personnel, Chuan Zhi Gai [2005] No. 20: To the human resources bureaus and professional title reform offices in various cities and prefectures, as well as to all provincial departments: In accordance with the relevant regulations on the evaluation and appointment of professional and technical positions, our province regards the foreign language proficiency of such professionals as an important criterion for assessing their knowledge level and professional capabilities. Through the institutionalized and standardized foreign language proficiency tests for professional and technical personnel over the years, the ability of these professionals in our province to use their foreign language skills to understand and acquire information from abroad has improved significantly, thereby enhancing the overall quality of the professional and technical workforce. At present, regarding the requirements for foreign language proficiency for professional and technical personnel, it is necessary to continue to adhere to the principles of \"strict control, appropriate flexibility, differentiated treatment, and gradual improvement.\" The standards for these foreign language proficiency tests should be adjusted accordingly based on the characteristics and requirements of various professional and technical positions. This approach ensures that the specific and general requirements for foreign language skills are taken into account for professionals in different fields, at different levels, in different positions, of different ages, and working in different environments. While maintaining varying standards for foreign language proficiency across different fields, emphasis should be placed on assessing academic and technical capabilities as well as work performance. The relevant information regarding this matter is as follows: First, when professional and technical personnel apply for professional and technical positions, they must comply with the regulations applicable to various categories of such positions. They shall take the nationally organized foreign language examinations for professional titles, in accordance with the levels specified in the \"Table of Foreign Language Examination Levels for Professional Titles in Sichuan Province and the Corresponding Personnel Groups\" (attached). For those series and positions that require a high level of academic and technical expertise as well as proficiency in foreign languages, the language requirements for obtaining professional titles must be appropriate to the position and the work carried out, so as to maintain the required standard ； For professional and technical personnel whose work does not have high or special requirements in terms of foreign language skills, no foreign language requirement may be imposed, or such a requirement may be appropriately reduced, when assessing their professional and technical titles ； For professional and technical personnel who are approaching retirement age and are eligible for exemption from exams according to regulations, or those who are unable to take the foreign language exams on schedule due to carrying out special emergency tasks during that period, the policy of \"exemption from exams, evaluation first followed by makeup testing, or evaluation first followed by taking the exam\" can be applied based on actual circumstances. II. The grading system for the foreign language exam for professional and technical personnel remains divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Those eligible for each level are specified in the \"Table of Grading Levels and Eligible Candidates for the Foreign Language Exam for Professional and Technical Titles in Sichuan Province\". III. Persons who meet one of the following conditions may be exempted from the foreign language exam when applying for a professional and technical title: (1) Those who have been approved by their organizations to study or pursue further education abroad since taking up their current position for more than 1 year (those required to know a second foreign language must go to a place where that language is used) ； (II) Obtaining a master’s degree to advance to an intermediate professional title ； Obtaining a doctoral degree to be promoted to an associate senior professional title (including senior professional titles without a distinction between senior and associate levels) ； (III) Those who work in non-foreign-related positions and, at the time of applying for a professional and technical title, are less than 5 years away from the **legal retirement age (including those who meet the special provisions set by ** and the province)** ； (IV) Obtaining a senior translator qualification by passing the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Examination ； Pass the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Examination to obtain the first-level interpretation and translation qualifications, and be promoted to a deputy senior or lower professional rank ； Pass the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Examination to obtain the qualification for interpretation and translation at level 2, and be promoted to intermediate or lower professional titles ； Those who have passed the National Translation Professional Qualification (Level) Exam and obtained the qualification for interpretation or translation at level 3, and have been assigned a junior professional title ； (5) Pass the CET-6 exam organized by ** and obtain a qualifying certificate, or achieve a score of 430 or above on the CET-6 to apply for an intermediate professional title ； Those who have taken the **organized CET-4 exam and obtained a passing certificate, or those whose CET-4 score is 430 or above and are eligible for a junior professional title ； (VI) Overseas returnees who meet the relevant regulations for direct recognition of professional and technical titles in our province ； (7) Personnel performing foreign aid tasks during foreign language examinations. IV. For the evaluation of professional and technical titles for the following professional and technical personnel, proficiency in a foreign language is not required for the time being: (1) Those engaged in teaching, translation, publishing, or broadcasting in minority languages ； (II) Persons engaged in professional and technical work in ethnic minority areas ； (III) Personnel engaged in professional and technical work in townships and towns at the county (district) level ； (IV) The following persons in remote mountainous counties: 1. Persons engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agricultural machinery, water conservancy, and fisheries ； 2. Teachers from normal schools of intermediate level and teacher training schools ； 3. Persons engaged in sports coaching or professional technical work in the field of mass culture. (5) Coaches who have won medals in national or higher-level competitions ； (VI) Evaluation of intermediate and junior professional titles for engineering and technical personnel engaged in field surveys, construction, and work in mines and underground environments ； (7) Engineering and technical personnel who work in construction enterprises on professional tasks such as building construction projects, building installation projects, building economic management, and landscape gardening projects, and who are being evaluated for intermediate or junior professional titles ； (8) Promotion to intermediate and junior professional titles for specialized technical personnel in township enterprises (excluding those working in electronics, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology). Those who are not required to have knowledge of a foreign language as mentioned above must, if transferred to an area (organization) where such knowledge is required, or if they hold a professional title that mandates proficiency in a foreign language, take an additional exam in that foreign language; their exam results must meet the relevant regulations of our province. V. For the following individuals, the requirement regarding foreign language proficiency is reduced by one level accordingly (that is, those advancing to Level B in the regular college entrance examination, Level C in the alternative college entrance examination, and Level D in the intermediate examination): (1) Those who work in professional and technical roles in remote mountainous counties ； (II) Persons engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, agricultural machinery, water conservancy, and fisheries ； (III) Persons engaged in sports coaching and mass cultural work ； (IV) Personnel responsible for the continuing education of primary school teachers. Those who are not required to have foreign language skills are excluded from all the categories of professional and technical personnel whose ranks have been reduced as mentioned above. VI. For those applying for professional and technical titles, they may choose an exam in medical classical texts or classical Chinese that is related to their professional field. (1) Health professionals engaged in traditional Chinese medicine-related technical work may take the examination in classical medical literature at the same level, in accordance with the foreign language proficiency required for the professional title they wish to apply for ； (II) Those working in archaeological or related fields (excluding those in higher education and research institutions) may take the ancient Chinese language exam at the corresponding level, based on the foreign language proficiency required for the professional title they wish to apply for. VII. When the following individuals are appointed to professional and technical positions, the employer shall set corresponding foreign language requirements based on the needs of the work: (1) Those who have obtained professional and technical qualifications through examinations ； (II) Those who obtain professional qualifications through examinations and can be directly appointed to corresponding professional and technical positions in accordance with **relevant regulations. VIII. Professionals in the following fields who wish to be awarded professional and technical titles must take the foreign language examination corresponding to their level as specified in this notice and achieve a passing score. (1) Persons promoted to professional and technical titles in the higher education and scientific research fields ； (II) Persons promoted to professional and technical titles for foreign-related positions ； (III) Persons promoted to senior professional titles in the engineering and health fields. IX. Except for those exempt from the foreign language exam as stipulated in this notice, those for whom a foreign language is not required for the time being, and those who must pass the foreign language exam, all other professional and technical personnel should voluntarily take the foreign language exam at the appropriate level. Among them, professional and technical personnel who, according to the provisions of this notice, are less than 3 years away from the age at which they are exempt from foreign language tests can, in the case of failing such tests when applying for professional and technical titles, proceed with the evaluation first and make up the requirement later. That is, before the foreign language proficiency test in the following year, they can have their professional and technical titles assigned and the corresponding positions granted to them, so as to meet the foreign language requirements for that position by the time they are promoted to a higher level of professional and technical title. 10. Those who meet one of the following conditions may proceed with assessment first and then examination: that is, they can first have their professional and technical titles assessed and the corresponding positions assigned to them, and then take the foreign language exam. However, they must take the foreign language exam for their respective title levels during their current tenure in office, and their scores must meet the relevant regulations of our province. (1) Those who have been dispatched by their organizations to carry out important and urgent tasks such as disaster relief and crisis management, or those who are abroad on official business and are unable to take the foreign language exam as scheduled ； (II) Those who come to Sichuan from abroad or other provinces to work and are unable to take the foreign language exam for that year on schedule. Those who meet the above conditions of ‘evaluation first, then examination’ must obtain a certificate from their employer outlining the reasons, and after verification by the higher-level competent authorities and the local personnel and career reform departments, as well as approval from the authority responsible for granting professional and technical titles, they may apply for evaluation for the corresponding title.