20,000 candidates take PLA civilian personnel exam in China

More than 20,000 candidates in China today took the 2016 national exam for 2,400 vacancies in the People's Liberation Army, the world's largest army.
The competition varies for each position in the PLA's civilian personnel recruitment, with 234 applicants vying for one spot the most fierce competition.
According to the person in-charge of the exam with the PLA General Political Department, this year has seen an improvement in the overall quality of applicants.
Official data showed that 26 per cent of the examinees have graduated from national universities and colleges, 42 per cent were with graduate diplomas or above and 29 per cent had rich work experience, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Besides, 16 per cent of all candidates have applied for the exam on more than one occassion.
The national exam was first set up in 2013, attracting 102,000 people to sign up for the test to compete for some 2,600 army civilian personnel spot.