Certification. Overview of training and tests
Contents
1. EC Euratom No 1995 2006 an article by article summary of the changes and much more Of course do not miss the next stage of the revision process we ll be there With best wishes for the New Year and your future financial management on behalf of the Central Financial Service DG BUDGET Directorate D Selection amp Recruitment Publication at grades AD9 12 for Head of Unit posts declared unlawful What started off as a rather classic case of a colleague contesting that he was not selected for a Head of Unit post resulted in a rather unexpected judgment of the Civil Service Tribunal case F 122 05 published on 14 December 2006 As is often the case the complainant invoked the erreur manifeste d appr ciation of the Appointing Authority in the context of the selection procedure This argument was rejected by the Tribunal However the complainant also advanced that the selection procedure itself was to be considered illegal claiming that the grade at which the post is filled is fixed only at the end of the selection procedure and therefore at a stage where the identity of the candidates for the post is known It is true that the Commission Decision on middle management staff foresees that the candidate selected for a Head of Unit post at level AD9 12 is appointed in his her current grade However the level of the post is fixed clearly before the selection procedure is launched either at level AD9 12 or AD13 14 Much to the Comm2. be appointed to and thereby facilitate the attestation of staff For your staff the adoption of the decision on types of posts will be an important step forward towards a modern career structure that allows for a better personal career development throughout a lifelong career We will keep you informed of further developments Financial Regulation What s in the 2006 s Revision The revision of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities was adopted on 13 12 2006 Did you miss it Relax and breathe for the moment this does not imply any radical change The amended articles that may affect your daily work are planned to enter into application only on the 1 of May 2007 once the Implementing Rules linked to them are adopted Full briefing and Information sessions will be provided as from April Nevertheless the revision of the Financial Regulation has an immediate effect on you as from 1 of January 2007 if you work in the fields of agricultural and structural funds But even in this case no need to start shaking the amended articles mainly bring the Financial Regulation in line with the respective funds regulations already in force and therefore imply just a few practical changes If you work in these fields you might want to take a look at the Focus on section on BudgWeb s homepage where you can find the Newsflash by the Central Financial Service the text of the Council Regulation
3. en retardant le lancement de l exercice nous faisait courir le risque s rieux de mettre en cause la participation des fonctionnaires de la Commission au prochain cycle de formation Et je ne veux pas prendre ce risque Je me vois donc contraint de lancer l exercice de certification 2006 sur les m mes bases imparfaites que le premier Je le regrette car ceci ne r pond manifestement pas aux attentes l gitimes exprim es par la plupart des collegues concern s Certification Overview of training and tests On 17 January the Director of the European Administrative School spoke to the Human resources network about the training and tests of the first certification exercise and plans for the second Of the 157 candidates from all Institutions 109 passed all 4 exams and can therefore apply for AD jobs The overall pass rate of just less than 70 was perhaps lower than some expected but there were a number of factors at work People had possibly under estimated the demanding nature of both the training programme and the exams and for a number of candidates there were language problems In addition just the fact of concentrating on candidates skills meant that many of them were faced with a type of exam with which they were unfamiliar My view is that it is vital for the credibility of the procedure that it is as demanding as a competition and that the exams though tough were fair Candidates who failed one or more exams can re sit them witho
4. European Commission N 62 January 2007 The 62 edition of Management Matters Premier exercice de certification a la Commission Le bilan par Claude Ch ne Une interview en exclusivit pour les lecteurs de Management Matters avant publication dans Commission en direct Claude Ch ne directeur g n ral de la DG Personnel et administration analyse l exercice de certification 2005 et s explique sur le lancement de celui de 2006 Coup d envoi de ce nouvel exercice le 5 f vrier Pouvez vous nous rappeler bri vement en quoi consiste la proc dure de certification La certification est la proc dure instaur e par le nouveau statut pour passer de la cat gorie B ou d sormais du groupe de fonctions des Assistants la cat gorie A devenue le groupe de fonctions des Administrateurs Elle se substitue donc aux concours de passage de cat gorie Il ne s agit pas simplement d un changement d appellation c est un vrai changement d approche Nous avons tent un pari audacieux donner de nouvelles perspectives de carri re ceux qui ont d montr un r el potentiel dans leur travail de tous les jours et qui ont l ambition et la volont d assumer des fonctions plus exigeantes valider les comp tences les soft skills gt et non plus exclusivement les connaissances les hard skills C est une petite r volution pour la Commission Pour r ussir ce pari la Commission s engage au c t de ses fonctionnaires inves
5. ality questionnaires Consistent high standards of integrity and efficiency are identified and measured through a specific competency framework for senior managers as used for the CDR for Senior management This was defined in 2002 and is based on 5 major competencies Information management Task management People management Interpersonal management Personal management Using Assessment centres is widely acknowledged as a sophisticated selection method which measures performance against key criteria considered to be critical for a particular position It is a professional evaluation tool with a high predictable value It thus provides comprehensive information on the potential of the candidate available for the CCA members The results are available on a confidential basis for CCA selection panel members and remain valid for a period of 2 years However all participants can obtain oral feedback from the Centre once the selection procedure is finalised Are you curious to discover more about Assessment Centres and what you can expect from them Please visit our website We held a special open meeting on 30th January to answer your questions if you missed the meeting slides of our presentation are available on our website Do you have any specific questions Our functional mailbox is available at the following address ADMIN ASSESSMENT CENTRE CCA Career Types of post The new career structure introduced by the Staff Regulations w
6. as a key element in the modernisation of the European Civil Service The old career structure classifying staff into a rigid structure of four categories A B C and D grades was long considered outdated as it failed to take into account the changing nature of posts and new work patterns spurred on by rapid technological change Since 1st May 2006 however all posts covered by the Staff Regulations are divided up into an administrator s function group AD and an assistant s function group AST each comprising different types of posts for which the Commission is required to define appropriate powers and duties The Personal and Administration DG has now prepared a draft Commission decision defining these and entered into consultations with other competent services Subsequently the staff unions will also be consulted For each type of post the draft decision identifies different functions each corresponding to a given range of grades and the nature and importance of the relevant duties Under the old career structure officials were often blocked at the top of their category For example a C 1 official in the old career structure had to change category by passing an internal competition in order to progress and assume greater responsibilities Without changing category further career development was impossible By contrast staff recruited after 1 May 2004 will now find many realistic opportunities for career development that pr
7. eviously did not exist For example officials in the AST function group will be able to progress up to grade AST 11 and carry out tasks previously considered as category B tasks simply by virtue of being appointed to a post including the relevant duties No additional condition needs to be fulfilled As a result among others managers will find new ways to motivate and reward their highly qualified staff currently recruited in the AST function group who are capable of more than what their actual tasks permit them to achieve For example someone recruited at AST 1 level carrying out secretarial work and who should advance beyond these tasks could be offered to move on to a post where he or she carries out administrative or financial operations once he or she reaches grade AST 3 Needless to say that these new career development perspectives require managers to provide for a sound career planning and to define appropriate training measures Staff should be encouraged to consolidate competencies gained on the job or discover other fields of responsibilities in order to open up these new opportunities In turn at a central level appropriate training courses will be made available The Commission decision on types of posts will as well be of great interest for the purposes of the attestation procedure It will for the first time clearly identify the functions at administrative assistant level applicants admitted to the attestation procedure must
8. ission s surprise the Tribunal did nevertheless declare the procedure illegal The Tribunal apparently defines the level of a Head of Unit post by reference to annex I of the Staff Regulations concerning the types of posts emplois types see related article in this edition in each function group stating that this annex allows for the distinction between 3 groups of grades AD9 10 AD11 12 and AD13 14 As a consequence the Tribunal considers the publication of a Head of Unit post in grade band AD9 12 to be illegal as this band includes 2 levels the final level at which the post is filled being fixed by the grade of the person selected i e at the end of the procedure the person selected being appointed in his her current grade An appeal against this judgment is currently under consideration In the meantime however the Commission will have to comply with the ruling As a consequence vacant Head of Unit posts will have to be published either at level AD9 10 AD11 12 or AD13 14 the latter being the case already today In addition some 50 internal selection procedures which were underway will have to be cancelled Rubrique pratique S ance de rattrapage Voici quelques br ves de ce d but d ann e qui vous auraient peut tre chapp transports publics cong s etc Remboursement des abonnements de transports publics La participation pr vue initialement partir de 2007 de 50 aux frais d abon
9. la pr sentation depuis le site web de la Task Force Une foire aux questions a aussi t labor e par la DIGIT pour les th mes les plus r currents d l gations a donner par le chef d unit a sa son secr taire pour la saisie de absences etc sur le site de Sysper2
10. ne dition Quid des coll gues qui ont chou Ces 32 fonctionnaires ont la possibilit de se repr senter aux preuves Nous envisageons avec l EAS de mettre en place des modules de rattrapage pour mettre ces coll gues en situation de r ussir leur nouvelle tentative Tout cela proc de de la m me d marche ne pas laisser les fonctionnaires sans soutien leur donner le maximum de chances Quel bilan tirez vous de ce premier exercice de certification Il serait pr tentieux de ma part de pr tendre que tout a t parfait ce ne peut pas tre le cas d s le premier exercice alors que la m thode vient de changer radicalement S agissant de la formation le taux de satisfaction de ceux qu ils l ont suivie est tr s lev Un coll gue soulignait dans ces m mes colonnes il y a deux semaines combien il avait appr ci le contenu de la formation et la nouvelle approche Il nous faudra en tirer toutes les le ons avec l EAS dont je salue par ailleurs le travail et avec les autres Institutions puisqu il s agit d une formation interinstitutionnelle Je crois savoir qu il y a un consensus pour renoncer aux modules sp cialis s qui restaient focalis s sur l acquisition de connaissances dures NDLR Voir article suivant L o j aurais souhait des changements c est dans le processus de s lection des fonctionnaires autoris s suivre le cycle de formation Pour au moins deux raisons e La mesure du potentiel ne peu
11. nement des transports publics n a pas t accept e par les autorit s budg taires Le budget autoris pour l ann e 2007 ne permet pas de lancer le remboursement des abonnements tel que propos II sera utilis pour renforcer des actions existantes v los infrastructures et autres mesures sur lesquelles bien videmment nous reviendrons Simplification administrative ce qui est pr vu pour 2007 La Task Force Simplifions nos proc dures administratives a pr sent au vice pr sident Kallas un premier rapport des am liorations en cours et celles qui sont en projet dont une charte de qualit de service Vous pouvez lire le r sum sur le site web de la Task Force ou dans Commission en plus du 12 janvier C est une preuve de plus que l usager a de bonnes id es et que l administration les prend en compte Comment demander un cong Mode d emploi de la nouvelle application de Sysper2 appel e Gestion du temps Time Management pour remplacer le SIC Cong s une conf rence pour le personnel tait organis e le 17 janvier pour expliquer les avantages de ce nouvel outil et r pondre vos questions Ce fut un succ s une salle pleine Bruxelles et des questions r ponses depuis tous les autres sites en vid oconf rence dont Ispra et Grange une ambiance constructive et des r ponses concr tes a des petits soucis de jeunesse du module Vous pouvez regarder sur votre PC l enregistrement de la pr sentation et lire
12. t pas se faire exclusivement au travers d une addition de crit res quantitatifs Ce n est pas un concept qui peut se r sumer en une quation math matique Il faut prendre en consid ration des appr ciations qualitatives e Nous avons constat que la quasi totalit des fonctionnaires s lectionn s taient des dipl m s universitaires Cela ne refl te pas la r alit de la cat gorie B vous avez dans ce groupe de nombreux coll gues qui n ont pas eu la chance de suivre des tudes sup rieures et qui ont pourtant le potentiel de devenir Administrateurs Ce potentiel est reconnu par leur hi rarchie Pourquoi leur fermer la porte de la certification Suite au premier exercice nous avons donc proc d cette analyse critique de la proc dure de s lection Un projet de nouvelles dispositions g n rales d ex cution a fait l objet d une consultation interservices et de n gociations avec les organisations syndicales professionnelles OSP Au terme de plusieurs concertations approfondies qui ont conduit amender de mani re substantielle notre projet initial la majorit des OSP a marqu son accord sur une nouvelle proc dure qui encadrait l introduction d l ments qualitatifs renfor ait consid rablement le r le du comit paritaire et permettait un nombre significatif de non universitaires d tre retenus Une organisation syndicale a marqu son d saccord et a demand la tenue d une nouvelle concertation Cette demande
13. tential senior officials to attend Assessment Centres Building on what was already compulsory for candidates applying for external senior management procedures the Commission has further strengthened its focus on appointing high calibre senior officials by introducing Assessment centres for candidates applying for internal procedures as of January 2007 How does this new measure affect you If you are a middle manager and plan to apply for a Director s post you are undoubtedly familiar with the eligibility criteria as laid down in the Compilation document minimum grade having the necessary experience and profile in a management position for 2 years at least You will also know that the current recruitment procedure has three phases pre selection at DG level interview with the Consultative Committee on Appointments CCA and interview with one or more Commissioners From January onwards this will change to include a full day at the assessment centre prior to the CCA interviews Working with an external contractor the Directorate dealing with CCA in DG ADMIN headed by Emer Daly will be responsible for extending Assessment centres to internal candidates During this full day candidates are measured individually against a predefined set of criteria and do not compete against each other There is a mix of individual and group exercises to assess the competencies i e in tray exercise verbal and abstract reasoning tests and person
14. tit dans son personnel C est la l autre diff rence que je veux souligner Les collegues ne sont pas livr s eux m mes dans la pr paration d un concours Ils sont accompagn s par l Ecole europ enne d administration EAS qui leur dispense sur leur temps normal de travail une formation solide ax e justement sur ces soft skills structurer une argumentation convaincre un auditoire synth tiser un probl me etc Cette nouvelle approche offre t elle pour un recruteur les m mes garanties qu un concours Si je voulais grossir le trait un concours vous donne la garantie que le laur at ma trise un domaine une technique Est ce d terminant pour ceux qui ont d j dix ans d exp rience au sein des Institutions et dont on a pu v rifier de nombreuses occasions le niveau de connaissance La formation mise en place par l EAS exige un investissement personnel important de la part du fonctionnaire contrepartie de l investissement consenti par l Institution Le titre de certifi n est pas donn gratuitement J en veux pour preuve le taux d chec de 30 des 116 fonctionnaires de la Commission admis aux examens de fin de formation en 2006 Il s agit donc d une formation s rieuse On peut tre innovant et rigoureux la fois Je vais d ailleurs inviter personnellement les 84 laur ats de cette premi re promotion pour les f liciter Commission en direct se fera l cho de cette petite r ception dans une prochai
15. ut having to go through a new selection procedure or the training programme Discussions will begin with all institutions before the end of January to decide on arrangements for implementing these provisions and the candidates concerned will be informed as soon as possible As regards the 2006 7 exercise 1 underlined again that the key philosophy of certification is to equip candidates with the skills they need to succeed as administrators and then to verify that they possess them It is not a test of their knowledge of specific areas in agreement with all the institutions we have therefore decided to drop the specific modules that featured in the first exercise The new training programme will be divided into two blocks of about 4 weeks in June and 2 weeks in October with about 10 days of individual exercises and assignments between the two During the training programme candidates will have more opportunities to take part in simulations based on what they will face in the exams We are also making a number of minor adjustments to take account of feedback from the first exercise We have just updated the information about certification on our website This includes details about the 2006 7 programme and an overview of the first exercise The list of the 84 successful Commission officials was published on 16 January 2007 Administrative Notice 6 2007 Commission en direct interviewed one of them Cend 427 From middle to senior management Po
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