United Nations Senior Techinical Advisor Recruitment
During the early 1980s when China was on the initial stage of the economic reform and opening to the outside world, senior talents were badly needed in addition to the advanced management and technology of the developed countries. In order to meet the demand for human resources in the socio-economic development, China set up the TOKTEN program in 1980 and the STAR program in 1985 with the help of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The two programs TOKTEN/STAR were merged into one afterwards. The objective of this program was to make use of senior technical and managerial personnel in the nationals residing abroad to provide short-term technical service in China without pay. Generally speaking, the program only offers international traveling expenses and some living allowance to the experts. The host organization affords the local transportation and other related expenses incurred during the service provided by the consultants. Since 1980, China has invited 2200 overseas Chinese experts and 3300 foreign experts through UNDP. These experts are mainly for technical consultancy, training and seminars on a short-term basis. The service activities covered in such areas as energy, environmental protection, anti-poverty, water resources, agriculture, industry, finance, trade, economy, transportation, public facilities, culture, education, public health and law. The overwhelming majority of them come from the developed countries. The practice over past 20 years proves that this project has already become an important channel of talent introduction for China. UNISTAR program is another expert related project under the UNDP project framework. By sending senior technical and management experts to the developing countries, UNISTAR is devoted to helping these countries to solve the practical problems in some fields and achieving the final purpose of supporting the economic development of recipient countries. The UNISTAR experts are high-level technical or managerial professionals with more than 20 years working experience. They offer free and high-quality services for the applicants in the spirit of volunteerism.
There are far-ranging connections among UNISTAR, governmental and non-governmental organizations. In December 1995, Italy and UNISTAR signed a cooperative agreement in Geneva Switzerland. Beginning from the 1995, Italian government would contribute more than 6 million dollars every year for missions by Italian experts to developing countries. China is one of its priority recipients. Since 1997, China has begun to invite experts through UNISTAR program. During the past few years, more than 20 Italian experts have been invited to China for technical services. The areas include Car making and designing, garment designing, ornament processing technology, leather designing. Now the Japanese government begins to dispatch experts to China through this project as well.
In addition to the above-mentioned projects, we also coordinate and manage German CIM Integrated Expert Program funded by German Government. This project aims at sending senior German experts to developing countries to help them solve practical problems arising from the shortage of suitable and qualified personnel in a specific field for a quicker social and economic development in these countries. The German experts, who are professionally high, offer longer-term (at least two years) technical services. Therefore, they play an important role in solving technological difficulties facing the developing countries in some fields.
In recent years, the CIM experts working in all parts of the world add up to more than 800 every year. These senior experts enable the recipients to own their technology through technological transfer and professional training so that the development in those areas can be sustained after they have left. In 1982 when the governments of China and Germany signed a bilateral agreement on technological cooperation, the German CIM Integrated Expert Program came into China from then on. Since 1994, the experts invited under this program every year number about 11. Up until now, more than 70 Integrated experts have been invited from Germany, who have been distributed in places such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Tianjin and Wuhan. They serve in important positions relating to such fields as urban construction, environmental protection, economic reform and job training. Their great performance is well received by the recipients.
Over the past 20 years, several thousand experts have been invited to China under the above program, who serve in various fields involving machinery, electronics, energy, metallurgy, chemical industry, light industry, food, building materials, mineral ore, broadcasting and television, communications, farming, animal husbandry and fishery, forestry, culture and education, public health, economy, law, finance and banking.
While making good use of foreign expert resources, we have managed to be closely related with domestic and international government organs, R&D institutions and universities. A network or tank of domestic and international experts has taken shape.
Based on the experts program, moreover, we have hosted and organized a large number of high-level international conferences and training workshops. There has emerged a professional team with rich operating experience.
Looking ahead, we will continue to develop international cooperation unremittingly and hold high-level international and domestic seminars and training workshops to introduce more intellectual resources, bring up more professionals and contribute more to China's economic and social development.
