More and more steps are being taken by the State for the implementation of the Public Service reform, which was put into effect as of the beginning of the year.
Following the evaluations with the new performance appraisal system for public servants, procedures have begun for the establishment of examination centers, where government officials interested in promotions will undergo examinations.
Specifically, the Public Service Commission (PSC) announced, through the General Accountant’s Office, a tender for the procurement of services from consultants and other specialties for the operation of examination centers.
The PSC aims to create a dynamic market system to ensure examination services for the promotion or appointment to interdepartmental and managerial positions in the Public Service (middle and senior management positions).
The service procurement will include the design and conduct of competency assessments, written examinations on subject matter expertise, organization and conduct of assessment centers, as well as the organization and conduct of the entire process.
The examination centers are expected to play a significant role in the reform, and candidates for positions from Scale A13(ii) and above will be referred to them.
The body responsible for the centers will operate based on the guidelines and under the supervision of the PSC, conducting candidate evaluations using modern methods and exercises.
Moreover, through the examination centers, the technical competence, skills, and abilities of the candidates will be assessed. Essentially, the suitability of candidates will be judged not only by their knowledge, academic performance, and experience but also by their possession and extent of skills and abilities to meet the requirements of the position they are applying for.
The examination center will evaluate and grade the candidates, while three times the number of candidates for positions to be filled will proceed to the PSC for an oral examination.
Additionally, the assessment of candidates by the examination centers will carry more weight than the criteria before the PSC.
It should be noted that for first-time appointment and promotion positions, successful candidates in the examination center assessment will be ranked based on their score.
Furthermore, for interdepartmental promotion positions, candidates will be ranked based on the total score from the examination center and units (up to 5) for the relevant experience of candidates with the duties of the position under consideration.
For trade union PASYSY, the operation of the new institution of examination centers remains a gray area, as there are unanswered and unresolved questions regarding the type, frequency, and content of examinations, as well as the broader scope of their application.
Many public servants have addressed PASYDY and raised various issues regarding the assurance of the principles of objectivity and impartiality of the institution.
The trade union organization of public servants requests from the Ministry of Finance additional clarifications on the method of determining the allocation of the weight of the criteria, which concern the entire spectrum of promotions, at various levels.
