Interpretation of the «Opinions on Deepening Reforms to the System and Mechanisms for Talent Development»

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Interpretation of the \"Opinions on Deepening Reforms in the Systems and Mechanisms for Talent Development\" Central Government Portal www.gov.cn 2016-03-29 07:08 Source: People’s Daily [Font: Large Medium Small] Print this page Share Creating a favorable environment for talent cultivation and development (Interpretation of the \"Opinions on Deepening Reforms in the Systems and Mechanisms for Talent Development\") Recently, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued the \"Opinions on Deepening Reforms in the Systems and Mechanisms for Talent Development\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Opinions\"), which put forward significant reform proposals regarding China’s systems and mechanisms for talent development; the key to these reforms lies in institutional innovation. The Guidelines propose to innovate the talent evaluation mechanism and optimize the role of this mechanism as a guiding factor in talent assessment ； Improve mechanisms for the smooth flow of talent, promote two-way mobility of talent, and encourage it to move to remote and difficult areas as well as to frontline grassroots positions ； Strengthen the talent incentive mechanism and emphasize innovation and entrepreneurship orientation. These reform measures have strengthened the institutional foundation for talent development in our country, creating a favorable environment for the cultivation and long-term growth of talents. Establish a scientific talent evaluation mechanism. For many years, the disconnect between the evaluation of talents and their actual use has been considered a major flaw in the professional title system. This is mainly due to **excessive oversight**, which deprives employers of autonomy, resulting in the situation where those who are qualified cannot be employed, while those who are employed are not qualified. To this end, the Guidelines clearly state the need to \"deepen the reform of the professional title system and improve the scientific nature of the evaluation process,\" and emphasize the importance of giving the employers a leading role in the evaluation of professional titles, as well as of defining and delegating the authority for such evaluations in a proper manner. Wu Jiang, former president of the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science, said, “This leading role refers to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources; in other words, employers should have the authority to evaluate and hire employees.” For institutions such as universities, research institutes, and state-owned enterprises that have the necessary conditions, **they should be allowed to conduct evaluations on their own, so as to motivate these employers. The evaluation methods can also be more flexible and diverse, using different criteria for assessment. ”At the same time, Wu Jiang also said that delegating authority does not mean shirking responsibilities; **one must still fulfill one’s duties in the process of professional title evaluation and cannot simply drop everything. In reality, some high-caliber talents, including those who have returned from abroad, must wait for a certain period of time after being recruited before they can be promoted step by step, which greatly affects their enthusiasm for serving the country. In response, the Guidelines propose direct appointment based on professional titles, creating a \"green channel\" for high-level talents to advance rapidly based on their professional competence. Wu Jiang believes that the \"Opinions\" put forward the exploration of direct appointment methods for high-level talents and those in urgent need, breaking through the restrictions imposed by qualifications and job quotas; this helps to address the new challenges arising from attracting talent from abroad and facilitates the cross-border movement of professionals. For some time now, the evaluation of professional titles has mainly taken place in public institutions and research institutes, and it has even been regarded as something **exclusive to talents**. As a result, talents from non-public economic organizations and social organizations often encounter a \"ceiling\" to their career advancement due to these professional title barriers, which severely undermines their enthusiasm and creativity. To this end, the Guidelines propose to streamline the channels for talents from non-public economic organizations and social organizations to apply for professional title evaluations. “This shows that the scope of professional title evaluations is expanding from ** to the entire society, which helps create an environment where everyone can achieve success. ”Wu Jiang said. In addition, the Guidelines propose that there be no uniform requirements for foreign language proficiency and computer skills tests, thereby addressing the issue of many professional and technical talents being hindered in their career development due to such mandatory requirements as foreign language skills and computer knowledge. This approach follows the principles of talent assessment and objective realities, reducing the burden of taking these exams on professional and technical personnel. Facilitate the flow of talent – The movement of talent is a prerequisite for it to be able to fulfill its potential. In recent years, China has introduced a number of new policies to facilitate the flow of talent, such as the \"Thousand Talents Program\" and the system for permanent residence permits for foreigners. However, obstacles that hinder the movement of talent, including household registration, location, status, educational background, and employment relationships, still exist. Dong Keyong, a professor at Renmin University of China, believes that the \"Opinions\" introduce multiple new regulations to improve the mechanism for the smooth flow of talent, put forward new concepts, and offer practical solutions. For example, the Guidelines propose establishing a system that gives priority to allowing high-level talents who are in urgent need to settle down, thereby opening up a way to address the most problematic aspect of talent mobility: household registration issues ； The Guidelines also propose accelerating the informatization of personnel file management services and improving the procedures for transferring and continuing social insurance relationships, in order to facilitate the mobility of talents across different regions, industries, and institutional frameworks. Regarding the proposal in the \"Opinions\" to \"study and formulate policies and measures to attract outstanding talents from non-public economic organizations and social organizations to work in Party and government agencies, as well as state-owned enterprises and institutions,\" Dong Keyong said that in recent years, although various regions and departments have attempted to facilitate the flow of talent from outside the formal system – such as Sichuan recruiting civil servants from workers and farmers, or the Supreme People’s Court selecting high-level judicial professionals through open recruitment – such efforts remain isolated cases. The introduction of this policy will promote two-way talent mobility from local pilots to widespread implementation, making the mobility mechanism more rational. According to statistics, the majority of talent in our country is concentrated in developed regions such as those along the eastern coast. The 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the western region account for only 18.8% of the total talent pool, while the border ethnic regions account for less than 4%. To improve the channels for talent to flow to remote and difficult areas as well as to frontline grassroots positions, the Guidelines propose a number of new regulations. “‘The 13th Five-Year Plan period is the decisive stage for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Such a flow of talent can help alleviate the issue of uneven regional development in our country and assist these areas in achieving comprehensive poverty alleviation. ”Dong Keyong said. Strengthen incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship. Only by ensuring that the knowledge and achievements of talents yield corresponding benefits can we better unleash their potential and promote their development. In protecting and encouraging innovation, intellectual property protection, especially the issue of ownership benefits for inventions created in the course of employment, is a topic that cannot be ignored. The current situation, in which efforts do not yield proportional rewards, disheartens many inventors who create such inventions. The proposed guidelines call for the accelerated introduction of regulations on service inventions, which will provide legal safeguards for reasonably dividing rights and interests between organizations and innovative talents, thereby maximizing their enthusiasm for innovation. While protecting the rights and interests of talents, it is necessary not to overlook the prevention and control of intellectual property risks. To this end, the Guidelines propose establishing an intellectual property assessment mechanism for the introduction and utilization of talent. **Wang Lantao, Director of the Personnel Department of the Intellectual Property Office, believes that the establishment of this mechanism can not only reduce resource waste in the recruitment and utilization of talent but also help prevent and control intellectual property risks. As a long-term incentive mechanism, equity option incentives enable researchers to share the benefits of innovation fairly. In practice, many places have already started implementing such measures and achieved good results. Zhao Yongle, vice president of the China Talent Research Association, believes that the proposal in the ‘Opinions’ to develop incentive policies based on equity and option plans for talents in state-owned enterprises and institutions is a reform measure aimed at addressing the weaknesses in China’s incentive systems. However, it is necessary to prevent issues such as the ‘hollowing out’ of these enterprises and institutions due to the loss of state assets; the ‘Opinions’ also stipulate that alternative incentive measures should be adopted for those cases where equity and option plans are not suitable. In addition, the Guidelines propose summarizing and promoting various innovation and entrepreneurship incubation models, as well as creating a number of low-cost, user-friendly, and open co-creation spaces. This aligns with the trends of the times and helps to establish a more comprehensive talent incentive mechanism. (Reporter: Zhao Bing) Senior Editor: Zhu Ying