Avic Looks To Recruit Globally
Aviation Industry Corporation of China launched a global recruitment drive for senior executives yesterday, the first time a Chinese defence company has publicly looked beyond the nation's borders for talent.
The newly restructured Avic appears to be primarily interested in attracting Chinese-born technicians and managers who have worked in the military and aviation industries in the west. However, Avic officials said they were open to hiring people of all nationalities.
“We certainly welcome Chinese students and Chinese scholars visiting abroad to come back and serve their country, but if foreigners meet our requirements they are also welcome,” said Gao Jianshe, executive vice- president and a member of the company's Communist party committee. “The key to attracting talent is attracting hearts, and we are building a nest to attract a phoenix.”
Judging from previous recruitment drives by Chinese state-owned companies, the chances of Avic hiring foreign nationals are slim.
China's state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which oversees Avic and most of China's other non- financial state enterprises, launched a similar global recruitment drive in the middle of last year.
By December, 15 of the 16 senior management positions advertised had been filled. But all the new recruits were Chinese citizens, only one had overseas experience, and all but one were party members.
“SASAC announced with much fanfare that it was conducting a global search for highly experienced candidates but among the 15 people hired, 12 were internal hires,” said Greg Anderson, a former chief financial officer and current doctoral candidate at University of California, Los Angeles, who specialises in Chinese state-owned enterprises reform.
“Although party membership was not mentioned as a prerequisite, it appears to have been an important factor in hiring decisions.”