How to best prepare to European Union recruitment competitions the Fast Stream Programme Sandra Seketin Lestan, Administration Academy, Slovenia 1 Abstract Within the Slovenian system of training in public administration a special training programme of EU affairs has been introduced. The programme is based on the Strategy for Training to Increase Administrative Capacity Prior to Slovenia's Entry to EU adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in August 2000. According to this strategy, different target groups had been identified and a special training introduced for each group. The Fast Stream Programme concerns the first target group young civil servants with the ambition to get permanently employed by the EU administration. The paper presents the main features of the Fast Stream Programme and success rates of the programme participants in first EU recruitment competitions. Background In August 2000 the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Strategy for Training to Increase Administrative Capacity Prior to Slovenia's Entry to EU. Main purpose of the strategy had been to define the framework for organization of training for different categories of civil servants in the field of EU affairs in the period 2000 2002. General strategic goals had been defined as to: Enable and enhance the conclusion of accession process, Prevent from inefficiency and failure in participation in the EU decision-making process. The strategy defined training objectives for each of the five target groups: 1. Fast Stream group, 2. Managers (higher officials) in public administration, 3. Functionaries in public administration (ministers, state secretaries), 4. Apprentices in public administration, 5. Other civil servants. Implementation of the strategy begun with the Action Plan, defining: Scope of training and foreseen costs, Detailed training objectives, Detailed training programmes, 1 Sandra Seketin Lestan, Undersecretary, Head of Unit for international cooperation in the filed of civil servants' training, Administration Academy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Recruitment of trainers, Planning of training events. The training was implemented partly by domestic trainers, trained within the PHARE project in 1999 and partly by contracted foreign training institutes: Centre des études européennes de Strasbourg (FR), European Institute of Public Administration, Maastricht (NL), Civil Service College (UK), VAB International (A). Training activities within the strategy framework had been financed by direct budget line. Besides, Slovenia benefited from the bilateral co-operation & technical assistance, granted from France, UK, Denmark, Ireland and Germany. Altogether, 3.642 participants had been trained within various training events, including the 29 participants of the Fast Stream Programme in the period 2000-2002. Based on the strategy, some programmes have been continued in the following years, including the Fast Stream Programme, which has been still going on. What is the Fast Stream Programme and why it has been introduced The Fast Stream Programme has been introduced to help ambitious younger civil servants with a strong motivation to work in the field of EU affairs and to get employed in one of the EU institutions. The main objective of the programme is therefore to increase the rate of success of Slovenian candidates at the EU open competitions. It is the interest of the Slovenian government that jobs offered to Slovenian citizens in EU institutions within the (so called) enlargement quota get won by best qualified civil servants, no matter they would latter become EU employees. The Fast Stream has been a working title for the programme of specialized training in EU affairs for civil servants that intend to continue their careers within the EU institutions or for the ones that intend to build their careers in one of the numerous areas connected to EU. The programme has been designed by the group of representatives of Ministry of the Interior (Public Administration Directorate, Administration Academy), Government Office for European Affairs and Government Personnel Office. The programme has been conceived according to the "European Fast Stream (EFS)", the programme of the UK government, introduced in the year 1991 as a reaction to the problem of low representation of UK citizens among employees of EU institutions. One of the aims of the EFS, run by the Cabinet Office, is to help British graduates on their way to permanent employment in the EU administration. The performance of EFS participants in EU recruitment competitions testifies to the success of the scheme. In the recruitment competitions held since the EFS was introduced, the success rate of its members has consistently been of the order of 20-30 %, compared with 1-3 % for members of the public 2. The Slovenian Fast Stream Programme has been oriented to the same goals. It has been first introduced in autumn 2000. In spring 2001 first 10 participants entered the programme after the thorough selection process, 18 participants entered in 2002, 11 in 2003 and 10 in 2004. Some of them later broke off the contract. All of them are civil servants, employed in ministries, government offices and local administration authorities. Organization of the programme implementation The minister of the interior has nominated the Coordination Board that has been entrusted the supervision of the implementation of the programme. Members of the board come from institutions that cooperated in designing the programme. The programme has been operated by the Administration Academy. 2 http://www.eu-careers-gateway.gov.uk/career/index.htm
To enter the programme the candidate has to have the full support of his/her direct superiors. The training requires also the commitment of the candidate's employer because of the fact that the Fast Stream Programme participant will be absent for training at least 1 week a month. There is also training abroad foreseen, which is not possible without the candidate superior's permission. Therefore the rule is that registrations could only be submitted by the public administration institutions, individual registrations have not been foreseen. For the candidates to be eligible to enter the selection procedure there are some conditions to be fulfilled: university degree, probationer period (traineeship) concluded, State Exam on Public Administration passed, active knowledge of two foreign (official EU) languages at least one of them should be English or French, communication skills, motivation to work in the field of EU affairs, interest for employment in one of the EU institutions. The selection procedure The paper registrations are to be submitted to Administration Academy. For the eligible candidates the selection procedure has been organized once a year. First, there is a written part of the selection, containing multiple-choice tests on the history and recent developments of the EU (in English) and a written test essay in the chosen foreign language (English, French, German). The oral part is an interview with the selection board composed of representatives of the Government Office for European Affairs, different ministries and professors of Ljubljana University. The members of the selection board conduct an interview based on the candidate's CV and the motivation letter to evaluate the candidate's communication skills, general knowledge, motivation to work in the field of EU affairs and especially the interest for employment in EU administration. After both parts of the selection procedure the board submit a list of successful candidates to the government for approval. Financing Participants have not been charged for training since the training budget that has been secured for the programme. There has been a direct budget line for training in EU affairs allocated to organizer. Therefore the organizer has been obliged to cover all expenses of training: fees, training rooms and facilities, training materials, etc. The organizer covers also all expenses of foreign language training and training abroad, including travel and accommodation costs, per-diems, etc. Besides, every participant is provided relevant EU related literature for individual study. Whenever possible, the organizer has been also using funds within different forms of bilateral assistance. According to the above, there are quite some obligations of participant's employer, too. Employer has been committed to ensure the best conditions to participant to prepare for the EU recruitment competition. First, this relates to the absence for training. The organizer expects that the participant's employer ensures the full support during the whole programme. The employer has also been obliged not to break off the permanent working relationship with the participant during the training or after the failure in the EU recruitment competition.
Training contract Good cooperation between the programme organizer and participant's employers is essential for the objectives of the programme. There has been a lot of obligations of the programme organizer as well as of the participant's employer already mentioned. This is the reason why all three parties sign the contract describing mutual obligations and duties. The overall success of the programme mainly depends on motivation and seriousness of participants. They have to bind themselves to do anything to best prepare for the EU recruitment competitions. Beside performing their regular jobs, this means, first of all, regular participation in training and regular reporting on individual learning. It is necessary to emphasize that extremely high participant's personal motivation has been expected. Therefore it can be concluded that the programme is intended only for the most ambitious and capable individuals who are prepared to devote to the programme a great deal of their free time. According to the amount of resources that government invested into the Fast Stream Programme, the contract defines that after the programme conclusion participants have to stay employed within the public administration at least so long as the time of duration of training. The participant is released of that obligation as soon as he/she is successful in the EU recruitment competition. The contract also defines a duration of the programme. For the first 3 generations (2001, 2002 and 2003) the programme was 3 years long, while for the generation 2004 the programme was shortened to 2 years. Training programme As mentioned, training within the Fast Stream Programme does not mean constant absence of the participants from their workplace. The training has been modular: between the training modules the participants are able to perform their regular work. The training programme consists of: 1. Compulsory training: seminars according to the yearly plan prepared by organizers, individual study of the relevant EU related literature, language training French language course (minimum 6 hours/week). 2. Optional training: language training other languages, English grammar refreshment course, seminars abroad at participant's choice (up to 5 days/year) subject to organizer's confirmation additional practical training abroad (stage, traineeship).
The core of the compulsory training is a series of 7 modules on EU policies in duration of a week, taking place every 6 weeks. Other compulsory training (beside language training) in 2004 included simulation of the EU competition (3 day seminar) and diplomatic protocol (2 day). Altogether, an average participant of the Fast Stream Programme took part in approximately 40 days of compulsory training without language training. Together, the participants made 59 months of stages and traineeships in different institutions (European Commission, European Environmental Agency, Permanent Representation of Republic of Slovenia to the EU, Slovenian Business & Research Association, European Institute of Public Administration) in 2004. A typical Fast Stream Programme module in 2004: AM MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY EU Law (the Acquis, the EU Policies (2nd part) Written test d Written tests d & e institutions, case law, European (individual coaching) public administration) Objective: see 1 st part Objective: a) preparation for MCQs on European Public Administration and Law (40 points) Objective: acquisition of the right techniques necessary to address the written test (40 points), plus acquisition of knowledge on substance through the subjects chosen by the trainer Actual test d Objective: to bring to the trainees a personalised correction and advice, both on written test d & e 3 trainees for test d and 6 trainees for test e Collective correction of Written Test d (drawing on the results of coaching) MCQ on EPA (and possibly other options) and correction LUNCH BREAK PM 1 EU Policies (1 st part) PM 2 Objective: preparation for MCQ on EU main developments and policies (20 points) + test d (written test, 40 points) and oral EU main developments (history) Objective: preparation for MCQ on EU main developments and policies (20 points) MCQ on EU main developments and policies (20 points) and correction Written test e in Slovenian (30 ) Numerical and verbal reasoning Objective: preparation for MCQ on numerical and verbal reasoning (40 points) Actual test Written tests d (individual coaching), second part Objective: to bring to the trainees a personalised correction and advice on written test d 3 trainees Preparation for test e (essay in Slovene) Objective: improvement of drafting skills in Slovenian and of the knowledge of EU vocabulary in Slovenian Preparation for test d. Objective: improvement of drafting skills in English, French or German
The seven chapters on EU policies 1. The Single Market The four freedoms (persons, goods, services, capital), Public procurement, Competition, state aids. 2. Economic And Monetary Union, Employment And Professional Training, Industry, Energy, Environment And Transports The monetary union and the coordination of economic policies (Growth and Stability Pact); taxation (towards a budgetary policy), Employment, industry, enterprises, professional training, Environment, energy, transports, trans-european networks. 3. External Relations Common Foreign and Security Policy, Commercial policy, Development policy, Human rights policy and humanitarian aid, The perspectives for enlargement (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Balkans). 4. Justice And Home Affairs, Research Policy Judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters (including Family Law), police cooperation (border control, fight against illegal immigration, organised crime, racism and xenophobia), asylum, Research policy (including spatial policy and biotechnologies). 5. Budget, Common Agricultural Policy And Structural Policy EU Budget (including the fight against fraud), Common Agricultural Policy and fisheries, Economic and social cohesion (structural funds and cohesion fund). 6. Culture, Youth, Sport, Audiovisual, Information Society, Education Culture, Youth, Sport, Audiovisual, Information society, Education. 7. Social Policy, Fight Against Exclusion And Discrimination, Public Health, Consumer Protection Social policy : the social Charter, the coordination of social policies (procedure, surveillance), The fight against exclusion, The fight against discriminations, Public health, Consumer protection.
Success rate of the Fast Stream Programme participants in EU recruitment competitions Most participants of generations 2001, 2002 and 2003 entered first competitions for the needs of EU enlargement. The very first competition for administrators EPSO/A/9/03 (former career grade A8, beginners no experiences required) was published in June 2003. Written testing took place in December 2003, final results reserve list was published in August 2004. The competition was open for candidates from 10 new member states. The candidates had to choose one of the specialized fields: European Public Administration, Law, Economics, Auditing. Most of the Fast Streamers competed on the field "European Public Administration" (29). The selection process took place in 3 parts: 1. Preselection MCQ tests on the main developments in the EU in the chosen language (English, French, German), 2. Written test essay in the same language to one of the given topics, abstract in the mother tongue, 3. Oral test interview with the selection board where the personal character and motivation was evaluated. Beside A8 competition, Fast Streamers also entered other competitions: EPSO/LA/12/03 (career grade LA6/LA7 Lawyer-Linguists) and EPSO/A/20/04 (career grade A5/A4 Head of Unit), in each of the competitions 1 was successful. Altogether 32 Fast Streamers competed and 8 of them were successful (25 %), which is comparable to the UK success rates. Until now, 4 have been employed in EU administration (2 in European Parliament, 1 in the European Court of Justice, 1 in the European Commission). Table 1: The success rate by generations (all competitions 3 ) No. Entered the competition preselection written test oral test Success in % 2001 10 8 5 5 3 37,5 % 2002 18 18 4 3 2 11 % 2003 10 6 5 3 3 50 % 2004 9 - - - - - All 47 32 14 11 8 25 % To compare the participants of the Fast Stream Programme to other Slovenian candidates that did not receive this kind of preparation training, we use only the very first competition EPSO/A/9/03 (career grade A8), Field European Public Administration, because most Fast Streamers took part there. Table 2: The success of Fast Streamers among all Slovenian candidates (career grade A8, European Public Administration) EPSO/A/9/03 (A8 - European Public Administration) No. of candidates preselection written test oral test A: FS participants 29 13 10 6 B: all candidates 229 61 41 25 3 EPSO/A/9/03 (career grade A8), EPSO/LA/12/03 (career grade LA6/LA7 Lawyer-Linguists) and EPSO/A/20/04 (career grade A5/A4 Head of Unit)
(SLO) A/B 12,7 % 21,3 % 24,4 % 24 % Table 3: The success of the Fast Streamers related to success of other Slovenian candidates (career grade A8, European Public Administration) EPSO/A/9/03 (A8 - European Public Administration) No. of candidates preselection in % A: FS participants 29 44,8 % (13/29) B: other candidates (SLO) 200 24 % (48/200) All 229 26,4 % (61/229) written test 34,5 % (10/29) 15,5 % (31/200) 17,9 % (41/229) oral test 20,7 % (6/29) 9,5 % (19/200) 10,9 % (25/229) Almost half of the Fast Streamers that entered the competition EPSO/A/9/03 (A8 - European Public Administration) were successful on preselection tests, while among other Slovenian candidates only a quarter were successful. The difference in success of the Fast Streamers and others has been even more significant on the written test, which shows the effectiveness of specialized training, especially on: the written test methodology, fundamental to present one's ideas in a very limited time; drafting in Slovene, using the right terminology; drafting in a second Community language; the general understanding of the European Union that helps the candidates to deal with a test in which his/her ability to have an overview of a given topic is evaluated. Finally, almost 21 % of the Fast Streamers have been successful all together in the chosen competition and so put to the reserve list as compared to less than 10 % of the other candidates. According to the figures we can conclude that the Fast Stream Programme can get 2,18 more chances of success and it should be underlined that, at this stage, there is little scope for improving the results of the Fast Streamers, as compared to the other candidates since: all the candidates who reached this level (successful in the oral) are very good, whether Fast Streamers or not; the oral test is more the evaluation of a character, a motivation, a profile, than a test on knowledge; thence, although the Fast Streamers were given the opportunity to train for the oral test, they were much more on an even playing field with the other candidates than they were at the previous stages of competition. Conclusion We can resume that the success rate of the participants of the Fast Stream Programme can be compared to the UK EFS participants' average success rates, which means the necessary justification of this programme and a stimulation to continue with it. Nevertheless, those are only the data of the first competitions and the Fast Streamers will certainly enter many future competitions and hopefully achieve at least the same or even better success.