At the Talent Forum of the 2024 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference held in Beijing today, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security announced significant news regarding the establishment of a professional title evaluation system for financial technology (fintech).
Recently, the bureau crafted the “Trial Measures for the Evaluation of Professional Titles in Financial Technology” after consulting extensively with industry experts. This new framework will categorize professional titles into four levels: primary, intermediate, associate senior, and senior. Additionally, it will evaluate on four professional tracks including applied technology research and policy analysis, product design and development, digital operation and maintenance of products, and application evaluation. This initiative is designed to streamline career advancement pathways for fintech professionals, with the first evaluations set to begin in 2025.
As Beijing serves as a national decision-making, management, information, and service center for finance, it has successfully deepened reforms to attract a wealth of fintech talent, establishing itself as a leading hub in this domain. The inclusion of “fintech engineer” as a newly recognized profession in the “2022 Classification of Occupations in the People’s Republic of China” by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security reflects this growth.
To meet the demands of industrial upgrades and support the career trajectories of fintech talent, the bureau is proactively developing talent pathways aligned with technological and industrial trends. The introduction of the fintech professional title evaluation emphasizes the importance of this system in attracting, nurturing, and retaining skilled professionals, enhancing the quality of industry development.
The evaluation authority for fintech professional titles has been delegated to the Xicheng District, which is recognized as the only national-level fintech demonstration zone. This area is pivotal for piloting fintech innovations and is home to leading fintech enterprises. The Xicheng District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau will oversee the evaluation of associate senior and intermediate titles, thereby linking talent evaluation closely with the region’s industrial strengths and reinforcing support mechanisms for talent aggregation.
The senior professional title evaluations will be conducted by the Beijing Municipal Engineering Technology Senior Title Committee, while the assessment for junior titles will be handled by respective district human resources departments.
To fulfill the diverse career development needs of fintech professionals, the new titles will integrate into the engineering technology series, establishing four distinct levels: Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Senior Engineer, and Senior Engineer. This encompasses all professionals in Beijing’s state-owned enterprises, non-public economic organizations, and social organizations engaged in applied technology research, policy analysis, product design and development, digital operation and maintenance, and application evaluation.
The fintech title evaluation will employ a social evaluation system, aligning with Beijing’s annual title assessment framework. The bureau plans to conduct targeted evaluations in response to industry demands, ensuring the integration of talent, innovation, and industrial chains for balanced growth.
In a departure from traditional assessment criteria focused solely on education, publications, or professional experience, the evaluation system for fintech titles will emphasize practical skills, professionalism, and innovation. It will implement a representative work evaluation approach, allowing applicants to submit various outputs such as research reports, project reports, national standards, development plans, or academic publications as their contributions. This will help identify highly skilled fintech professionals, fostering technological and model innovations, and injecting new vitality into the ongoing advancement of Beijing’s fintech sector.
