“Made-to-Order” NCOs: The PLA’s Targeted Training NCO Program

 One more study by the China Aerospace Studies Institute that's worth of your time to read.   Full article here (link)

MSgt Daniel Salisbury & Kenneth Allen

Over the last decade, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has rapidly expanded a program to increase technical capabilities across its enlisted corps by developing what it calls “made-to- order” noncommissioned officers (NCO). These targeted training NCOs receive technical training at civilian institutions before entering the PLA with NCO rank and benefits, bypassing the junior enlisted ranks altogether. 

While the program is not likely to become the PLA’s main source of NCOs, its continued expansion indicates growing trust in its outcomes and highlights its increasing importance in a suite of PLA recruitment and talent development programs.

The Centralization of the PLA Air Force’s Basic and Technical Training

 Latest professional study by the China Aerospace Studies Institute on "The Centralization of the PLA Air Force’s Basic and Technical Training"

The full study can be accessed via this here (link)

Initial entry training is a major undertaking for any armed force, but China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) faces a unique set of challenges based on its enlisted force’s large size, relatively short service commitments, and high proportion of technical requirements. Although the PLA does not release comprehensive personnel data, the PLAAF most likely demobilizes and replaces about 20% of its enlisted force annually, including two-year conscript/recruits1 who are not promoted to the NCO corps and any NCOs who are not promoted to the next level—many of them in positions requiring some level of technical training. As such, even minor adjustments to initial entry training may have significant impacts for the PLAAF in terms of reaping the maximum benefit from these two-year conscript/recruits before many of them are demobilized.