In the current personnel management system, it seems that the transformation of service personnel into civil servants has encountered insurmountable barriers. According to the current Measures for the Registration of Civil Servants, the key to the confirmation of the identity of civil servants lies in the effective registration of the Civil Servants Registration Form. In fact, the design of this system excludes service workers, who may be engaged in official work but do not have the status of officially recognized civil servants. In other words, workers who are unable to complete this core step have their path to civil service becoming an unreachable dead end.
In the analysis of the identity of civil servants, it is not difficult for us to find that although cadres are not necessarily civil servants, civil servants must have the identity of cadres. In other words, it is difficult for an ordinary worker in a public institution to cross the boundary of this identity, even if he has ascended to a management position through job transfer. It is precisely this institutional arrangement that forms a fundamental obstacle to the transformation of the status of service personnel into the status of civil servants.
Today, public institutions have shown more obvious identity mobility, and service personnel can completely transfer to management positions after meeting certain conditions. This change provides more career development opportunities for service workers. However, this mobility does not reflect the same flexibility in the transition to civil servant status.
The Regulations on the Transfer of Civil Servants do not seem to explicitly stipulate that the transferee must be a cadre, and only mentions "personnel engaged in public affairs". In the eyes of many workers, this seems to leave hope for them to become civil servants. However, in practice, due to the provisions of the "Measures for the Registration of Civil Servants" and the relevant answers of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, this hope is ultimately like a flash in the pan and is difficult to reach.
Although the way to change identity is not completely closed, such as going back to school and re-studying through public service, these ways undoubtedly increase the difficulty and complexity of changing identity for employees. Not to mention, these approaches do not include a direct transition from worker status to civil servant.
At present, non-commissioned officers are a special group of service personnel, who often have the expectation of further development into civil servants. But under current policies, this aspiration remains out of reach for most people. Even if they have been transferred from service posts to management posts, they still face the practical problem of not being able to complete the registration of civil servants.
In practice, the dream of civil servants has hit a wall, not only because of the division of status, but also because of the potential contradictions in the entire institutional framework and institutional arrangements. However, it is not unhelpful to understand the nature of this dilemma, and it is both a wake-up call and a turning point for those who still have aspirations. In the face of the difficulty of reality, continuing education and the improvement of vocational qualifications may be a more realistic and effective way.
In addition, although it is difficult for individuals to influence the changes in the system, understanding policy trends and grasping the context of reform can provide guidance for personal career planning to a certain extent. The dream of civil servants may usher in a new dawn in the near future with the improvement of the system and the deepening of reform. Before that, constantly improving oneself and actively adapting to policy orientation will be the only way for every worker to cope with practical challenges and realize personal value.