On October 14, Offcn Education Technology Co.,Ltd. stock surged 6.74% intraday, while FENBI also rose over 7% at one point. The abnormal movements in these online and offline civil service exam training giants were driven by significant news.
On the same day, the 2026 national civil service examination officially launched, planning to recruit 38,100 people. Most notably, age restrictions were significantly relaxed, with the upper limit adjusted to 38 years old, and fresh master's and doctoral graduates eligible up to 43 years old.
Li Manqing, acting CEO of Huatu Education, explained that this policy aims to break age barriers and provide more opportunities for highly educated talent. It allows master's and doctoral graduates with rich social experience and professional knowledge to join the civil service, bringing more diverse social experience and professional perspectives to the civil service workforce.
**Relaxation of Age Limits for Applications**
One characteristic of this civil service recruitment is the appropriate relaxation of age conditions in accordance with policy requirements for implementing gradual delay of statutory retirement age. The upper age limit for applicants has been raised from 35 to 38 years old, while 2026 fresh master's and doctoral graduates can apply if under 43 years old, with a total planned recruitment of 38,100 people.
Simultaneously, recruitment of university graduates continues, with central government directly affiliated municipal and sub-municipal institutions mainly recruiting fresh university graduates, setting approximately 26,000 positions to serve and promote university graduate employment.
To strengthen grassroots civil service teams, over 28,000 positions will supplement county-level and below directly affiliated institutions, with over 3,000 positions specifically recruiting grassroots service project personnel and university graduate veterans who served in the military for over 5 years. Preferential policies continue for difficult and remote area grassroots positions.
According to the announcement, county-level and below directly affiliated institutions in difficult and remote areas may adopt measures such as adjusting education, major, work experience requirements, and setting separate written test passing scores to appropriately lower entry barriers.
Chu Chaohui, researcher at the China National Institute of Educational Sciences, pointed out that this relaxation of age limits is based on two practical considerations: targeted care and compensation for specific groups, and optimizing human resource allocation to promote fuller employment.
Chu noted that many remote areas have long employed non-staff personnel who have served for years but couldn't apply due to previous age restrictions. This relaxation provides valuable opportunities for these experienced workers to obtain formal positions, serving as institutional compensation for their long-term contributions.
Chu also indicated that behind the current "civil service exam fever" lies the contradiction between difficulty in passing and significant position differences. Varying treatment, transportation, and accommodation conditions create gaps that make some remote positions less attractive. Relaxing age limits essentially expands the potential applicant pool for these positions, helping attract and match more talent to relatively difficult areas, thereby improving overall employment adequacy and rationality.
Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, noted that representatives and committee members have consistently proposed eliminating the 35-year age threshold in civil service recruitment during national and local sessions in recent years. They argue this threshold not only prevents excellent talent over 35 with rich experience from joining the civil service but also drives workplace age discrimination against job seekers over 35, affecting their re-employment.
"This relaxation can drive society-wide recruitment to eliminate age discrimination," Xiong stated. Eliminating the 35-year age limit not only provides more employment choices for job seekers over 35 but also allows organizations including party and government agencies, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises to recruit better talent, creating equal employment and career development environments for all job seekers.
Civil service and public institution recruitment both use written tests plus interviews. Fair competition between applicants under and over 35 will create a talent development situation where everyone can fulfill their potential and be utilized appropriately.
**Civil Service Training Sector Welcomes New Growth**
The national exam age relaxation has not only sparked social discussion but also caused market fluctuations. On October 14, Offcn Education Technology closed up 1.77% after rising 6.74% intraday, FENBI closed up 3.45% after rising over 7% intraday, and Huatu Shanding closed up 0.77%.
Li Manqing predicted that with this year's slightly reduced recruitment scale, age relaxation, and increased candidate preparation intensity driving up average interview entry scores, this year's national exam competition will be more intense, with the "thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge" situation becoming more pronounced. Candidates hoping to succeed early need comprehensive review planning.
This national exam plans to recruit 38,100 people, somewhat fewer than 2025. Data shows national exam planned recruitment increased from 24,100 in 2020 to 39,700 in 2025, growing over 64% in five years. During the same period, applicants increased from 1.277 million to 3.416 million, actual test-takers rose from 965,000 to 2.586 million, and the overall competition ratio climbed from 39:1 to 65:1.
Offcn Education Technology representatives explained that with current intense job market competition, the stability of civil service positions has greatly increased their appeal, leading more people to seek training to enhance competitiveness, thereby increasing market demand for civil service exam training.
"Age relaxation will become an important policy dividend for training market expansion in coming years, bringing positive impacts in expanding user base and driving product innovation. The key to capturing this dividend lies in whether institutions can respond quickly with high-quality products and services meeting different-stage candidate needs," the Offcn Education representative stated.
FENBI representatives also noted that this relaxation of application conditions directly activates potential participation willingness among the 36-38 age group working population. "Due to delayed retirement age, recruitment age follows this change with appropriate three-year relaxation. This is good news for 36-38-year-old civil service candidates, giving them more employment choices."
FENBI representatives added that with less than two months until the national exam, this candidate segment faces multiple challenges including fragmented preparation time, need for rapid knowledge organization, and urgent preparation cycles. They should reasonably plan review pace according to their own levels.
Beijing Academy of Social Sciences Associate Researcher Wang Peng expects provinces nationwide will generally follow suit in relaxing civil service exam age limits. He noted that many regions have already piloted relaxing age requirements for certain positions in provincial exams, making breaking the "35-year threshold" an inevitable trend.
Wang believes this trend will bring significant benefits to the civil service exam training industry. As age restrictions relax, the number of test-takers is expected to further increase, and "older" candidates typically have higher dependence on professional training and stronger willingness to pay, bringing broader market space and business growth opportunities for institutions.
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