Beijing tightens foreign talent hiring criteria

Beijing's government has announced it will be raising the hiring standards of foreign talent.

In a joint statement released by the Beijing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Foreign affairs office of Beijing and Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, the changes are geared at lifting the threshold for acquiring a job in the capital city.

Following the new decree, non-Chinese citizens will have to meet four requirements before being able to work in Beijing:

• They must be aged between 18 to 60, with no criminal record. However, the age limit for programmes recruiting senior foreign experts to work in China is up to 65 years old.
• They must have a Bachelor's degree or above with at least two years of relevant work experience. Teaching requires at least five years of relevant experience.
• They must have a specific name for employer and a valid passport or other valid international travel documents.
• They must hold a valid work permit, or a residence certificate for work.

Those moving to Beijing to teach in pre-primary education institutes, schools and private education institutes will require Chinese teacher certificates or International language teaching qualifications, including Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), and The Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT).

Teachers for disciplines other than language need to have at least five years of related working experience.

Currently, there are more than 37,000 employees in Beijing from countries including United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Germany and Australia, with 95% holding a Bachelor's degree or above.

A majority of them work in the information, computer science, education, consulting and science and technology sectors.

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