Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee workers "re-employed"

Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee workers are "re-employed"

China's national sports system is quietly changing amid the increasingly in-depth new relationship between the government and the market. own form. From the Asian Organizing Committee to the Olympic Organizing Committee, the changes in the source and destination of staff illustrate this point well

On August 8, 2008, at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Zhou Hua ?A little disappointed but also a little excited? She was excited because the goal she had been working for for five years had finally been achieved; she was disappointed because the opening of the Olympic Games meant that she would face the issue of re-employment.

Enter the Olympic Organizing Committee

Zhou Hua is one of the first batch of staff members of the Olympic Organizing Committee to pass open recruitment. At the end of 2002, the Olympic Organizing Committee opened its first open recruitment to the public. Such open recruitment is rare in previous large-scale competitions in China, and the competition is very fierce. ?More than 3,000 people applied for more than 40 jobs?

After written examination and interview, Zhou Hua became one of these 40 staff members in early 2003. ?As soon as the Olympic Organizing Committee released the recruitment information, I wanted to participate personally. ?Zhou Hua told a reporter from China News Weekly. For this reason, she gave up her job in a public institution of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

It was not just the Olympic complex that made Yu Xiaotian choose the Olympic Organizing Committee. In 2006, just out of school, he found his first job in a well-known electrical appliance company in Guangdong. At the end of December this year, he resigned from this job and returned to Beijing for development. For Yu Xiaotian, whose registered residence is not in Beijing, staying and working in Beijing is his long-cherished wish.

Yu Xiaotian, who was looking for job opportunities, caught up with the new round of social recruitment of the Olympic Organizing Committee, which was both a springboard and an opportunity. In 2007, Yu Xiaotian took the recruitment examination and officially became a staff member of the Olympic Organizing Committee. In April, he was assigned by the Olympic Organizing Committee headquarters to Laoshan Velodrome as the business manager.

Among the more than 4,000 staff members of the Olympic Organizing Committee, more than 3,000 are selected personnel and more than 1,000 are employed by the Olympic Organizing Committee. Staff members recruited through social recruitment such as Zhou Hua and Yu Xiaotian are called "P1". Correspondingly, there are "P2" seconded from various units and "P3" interns from the Olympic Organizing Committee. There has never been such a division in the organizing committees of large-scale events in the past: the organizing committees of the Asian Games and Universiade have not conducted similar open recruitment.

Wei Jizhong, 72-year-old chairman of the Sports Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia, participated in the entire preparation process of the Beijing Asian Games. Wei Jizhong said in an interview with China News Weekly: There was basically no recruitment during the Asian Games, and they were all seconded by various units, including the Beijing Municipal Government, the National Sports Commission and some large enterprises. ?

The planning system took the lead in the preparation work that year, and various specific projects were also allocated to various government departments. For example, matters related to accommodation are assigned to the Beijing First Commercial Service Bureau; matters related to catering are assigned to the Beijing Second Commercial Service Bureau. The Beijing Municipal Commerce Commission will then coordinate and manage both. ?At that time, there was unified leadership. ?Wei Jizhong said.

In the 2000 Universiade, this system was replaced by a more market-oriented model: an operating method in which state-owned enterprises contracted related work emerged. The personnel work of the Universiade Organizing Committee still continues the "secondment"-based model.

He Zhenwen, who currently serves as the vice president of Beijing Sport University, was seconded to the Boxing Gym Branch News Center under the Press Department of the Asian Organizing Committee as the deputy director of the Publicity Department of Beijing Sport University as the director of the center. ?The salary is paid by the school, and the Olympic Organizing Committee provides some symbolic subsidies. ?The staff of the boxing gym branch press center are all transferred from various units.

Since then, whenever there is a major competition, He Zhenwen will be seconded to the competition organizing committee. Nowadays, in addition to seconded personnel, the Olympic Organizing Committee also recruits a large proportion from the outside world. ?The Olympic Organizing Committee has 16 people in the project department of the Beijing Sport University Olympic Organizing Committee, some of whom are recruited from the public.

? Regarding this change, He Zhenwen believes: ? One reason is that the Olympic Games Organizing Committee is too big: it cannot be selected; more importantly, the mechanism of our country has changed, and the employment system has undergone great changes. First of all, there is a market; there are such people in society, and there are sources; employment is not limited to people in small circles in the past, and more social resources are used. ?

This employment method that combines secondment with social recruitment will be continued in the Guangzhou Asian Organizing Committee. ?We all have these ways. ?A staff member of the Human Resources Department of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee told a reporter from China News Weekly.

?Feelings for the older unemployed youth?

?Some of the seconded personnel for the Asian Games could not return, and a Beichen Group was formed at that time. The staff involved in the first Olympic bid were mainly seconded from various units. The second time we organized the Beiao Group. ?

At the conclusion of the 1990 Asian Games, the wholly state-owned enterprise Beichen Industrial Group Company was formally established. The main businesses are real estate development, conferences and exhibitions, property operation and management, and retail business. Wei Jizhong said in an interview with China News Weekly: "Some people who were seconded from the government, we did not let them return to the government, but let them become the backbone of Beichen Group or Beiao Group." At that time, this problem was solved by establishing large comprehensive groups to arrange these people. ?

Regarding the arrangement of staff for the 2008 Olympic Games, Wei Jizhong, a senior adviser to the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, once suggested organizing a similar group company to absorb and utilize these talents who have been trained by the Olympic Games. Mr. Wei’s suggestion? Athens’ approach: implement market-oriented operations. The contract between the Olympic Organizing Committee and social recruiters clearly states that after the work is completed, they can choose their own careers.

It has long been accustomed to the staff of the previous Olympic Organizing Committee to choose their own career after the game. The Olympic Organizing Committee was established in the form of a company, and the government only provided municipal support. After the work ended, the CEO was unemployed. ?I think it’s normal abroad. ?Yu Xiaotian said.

This model is very different from the previous model in which the government was responsible to the end. Wei Jizhong concluded in an interview with China News Weekly: They are two completely different social models. Let’s put it in simple terms. The 1990 Asian Games was completely based on a political and social model; by the Olympic Games, it had begun to have many changes. The big part is the model of civil society.

On September 10th, the last race at Laoshan Velodrome. When the flag was raised for the last time in the venue, many staff members felt a little disappointed. The busyness in the previous period would slowly stop as the flag was slowly raised.

On this day, Yu Xiaotian asked his colleagues in the department to order a cake. The colleagues had their last gathering in the office and everyone took a group photo. Colleagues from different places will go their separate ways. Yu Xiaotian's colleague Lu Liang returned to his original job. Lu Liangyuan was a teacher at a university in Beijing and was seconded to the Olympic Organizing Committee as the volunteer manager of the Laoshan Velodrome. Other colleagues also returned to their original units.

Yu Xiaotian felt that things suddenly disappeared, and so did the people around him. ?No one will ever ask you to do anything again. Just stay at home, it's really uncomfortable. ?Yu Xiaotian said. How to find a new job is a problem he has to face again. In Xiaotian's own words: "I feel like an older unemployed youth." ?

Special civil service examination

?P1?At the beginning of recruitment, they were mentally prepared to face unemployment after their work was over. However, many ?P1? also believe that the Olympic Organizing Committee will provide them with help in solving work problems.

?What is the way to solve the problem? Is it a platform for recruiting jobs, or is it arranging all the work for you? neither knows. ?Yu Xiaotian told the reporter of China News Weekly.

? It used to be said that everyone’s whereabouts would be arranged in advance in April this year, but it was all gossip. ?Before the official resettlement plan came out, colleagues were also circulating different opinions. It wasn't until the end of September that Yu Xiaocai received the formal arrangements.

? I must have thought about finding a job when I first came here, but I must be very optimistic at this time because there is still a year and a half left. With such a good platform, wouldn’t you be full of hope for the future? ?Yu Xiaotian said.

On March 28, 2008, the post-game placement work for Olympic Organizing Committee staff was officially launched. On this day, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee signed the "Post-Games Personnel Resettlement Agreement" with nine large enterprises including China Petrochemical Corporation, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China, and State Power Development Co., Ltd., as well as the Beijing Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. .

In order to sign this agreement, the Olympic Organizing Committee took the initiative to contact these units. ?An agreement signed on the basis of mutual communication and negotiation. ?Introduced by Xu Zhijun, Deputy Director of the Personnel Department of the Olympic Organizing Committee. According to the agreement, these units will recruit a group of Olympic Organizing Committee staff to work based on work needs.

One day after the news came out, Yu Xiaotian received a call from his family. The family members who saw the news thought that Yu Xiaotian would definitely join these large state-owned enterprises after the game. An intern at the Olympic Organizing Committee also heard similar rumors: "I heard that 80% of their P1 candidates will go to PetroChina and CNOOC." ?

The fact is that at the job fair, PetroChina provided more than 100 jobs to the Olympic Organizing Committee, and CNOOC provided more than 10 jobs, which is far from the 80 of 1,500 people.

However, the advantages of organization and system still play a vital role. On October 16, 2008, Beijing Vocational College of Labor and Social Security held a special civil servant selection examination specifically for Olympic Organizing Committee staff. In this selection process, Beijing provided 100 civil servant positions for Olympic Organizing Committee staff with positions below chief section officer, and 600 people participated in this examination. Just in 2008, the number of applicants for national civil servants exceeded 1 million.

Yu Xiaotian did not get the opportunity to take this exam. According to the Civil Servant Law and relevant regulations of Beijing City, Yu Xiaotian does not have a Beijing household registration and does not hold a master's degree, so he does not meet the requirements to apply.

On the second day of the civil service examination, Yu Xiaotian got an opportunity to apply for a job in the company. On October 17, the Beijing Talent Building held a special job fair specifically for Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee staff. ?Basically, I have seen everything I can see from my usual colleagues. ?At this job fair, 64 enterprises and institutions including PetroChina and Sinopec provided 1,753 positions for 1,500 Olympic Organizing Committee staff. The ratio of 1:1.17 is hard to see at other job fairs.

Xu Zhijun, deputy director of the Personnel Department of the Olympic Organizing Committee, said in an interview with China News Weekly: The purpose of this is to give full play to the advantages of the organization and system to help these staff work better after the Olympics. Choose a career and find a job. Another purpose is to fully and effectively deploy these high-quality international talents who have been tempered and trained by the Olympics into the civil service and enterprises and institutions. ?

Many companies are optimistic about

?Selection is a two-way process. ?Yu Xiaotian, who passed the interview, was notified by the bank to undergo a unified physical examination. This means that Yu Xiaotian will move to a new job.

Staff members who have been screened by the Olympic Organizing Committee and experienced in the Olympic Games are favored by many companies. Wei Jizhong said in an interview with China News Weekly: When the Olympic Organizing Committee was established, I said: The Olympic Organizing Committee is a university that cultivates talents. ?

? Put forward suggestions and hopes. We attach great importance to this matter from top to bottom. We think this is also a very good way to attract high-quality talents. When the positions are suitable, we will try our best to recruit as many people as possible, Ms. Li from CNOOC's Human Resources Department told China News Weekly, "We also believe that these people are also very competitive in the market." ?

?The average age is 35 years old, more than 50 years old have a master's degree, and more than 20 years old have returned from studying abroad or working overseas. ?Many enterprises and institutions have become interested in Olympic Organizing Committee staff.

Xu Zhijun, deputy director of the Human Resources Department of the Olympic Organizing Committee, told a reporter from China News Weekly: The China Development Bank alone has recruited 218 staff from the Olympic Organizing Committee. Zhou Hua is one of them.

In addition to enterprises and government departments, the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, the Ninth National Universiade Organizing Committee, and the Sixth East Asian Games Organizing Committee will also be the choices of these Olympic talents. This kind of staff who take "organizing committee" as their career and move to different organizing committees is very common in previous Olympic organizing committees.

In preparation for the Ninth National Universiade and the Sixth East Asian Games, the Tianjin Municipal Personnel Bureau specifically recruits professionals for the opening and closing ceremonies, investment promotion, and planning for the Olympic Organizing Committee. Mr. Liu, the relevant person in charge of the Tianjin Municipal Personnel Bureau, said: Tianjin’s recruitment model is that the organizing committee recruits, but the identity of the staff will fall to a specific department. If you were previously a cadre at the division level or above, you can enter the Education Commission, Sports Bureau and other government departments; if you are not a cadre at the division level or above, you can enter a university or other public institution, and then join the organizing committee on secondment. If the staff does not want to stay in Tianjin, they can also adopt the form of flexible mobility: after the relevant work is completed, they can stay or leave independently. ;