Malta University Consulting, a subsidiary of the University of Malta, is shortly to hold the first in a planned series of training programmes to help candidates applying for EU posts prepare better for the gruelling selection process.
Hundreds of Maltese applying for jobs with European Union institutions in Brussels and Luxembourg are often ill-prepared when they face the three-tier ‘competition’ which involves detailed web-based application, examination, and interview procedures. Numerous, highly qualified candidates stumble as a result.
“We have struck good relations with key people at the European Commission who are involved directly or indirectly with recruitment,” MUC manager Massimo Chircop told The Times Business.
“They experienced the process themselves so they know exactly what it takes. We discussed the lack of stellar success of Maltese applicants. The problem is most applicants do not actually know what to expect. Through training, we seek to reset Maltese candidates’ mental software, so to speak.”
Local applicants for European Personnel Selection Office competitions have been on the rise since 2004: 80 applied for a competition for administrative assistants that year but only 10 passed. Of the 198 Maltese applicants for AST1 posts in 2007, 30 made it through; only four passed the AST3 competition in 2008 of the 60 applicants.
Meanwhile, EPSO has radically modified competition procedures over the last year so that examinations are primarily competence- rather than knowledge-based.
Mr Chircop explained EPSO was increasingly seeking to recruit people who possessed real potential – specific personal qualities like numerical and reasoning skills, team player capabilities, the ability to execute instructions intelligently, and those who would be assets to their future units.
The MUC’s first initiative under its newly launched ‘Your Gateway to a Career with EU Institutions’ package of training modules targets candidates for nine AST1 competitions for Maltese assistants and secretaries published on November 17.
EPSO hopes to recruit 47 local candidates. For the first time, part of the written examination will be held in Maltese, Mr Chircop added.
An intensive full-day workshop, led by Brussels-based EU experts at the University of Malta residence in Lija on December 21 will familiarise competition candidates with the selection procedure for these competitions.
The workshop will focus on verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning, professional capabilities like accuracy, organising and prioritising, and knowledge of secretarial skills.
This and other modules will brief participants on pre-admission tests which focus on core skills; specialised skills being sought for specific posts; and soft skills including communication, inter-personal capabilities, written and oral presentation skills, and reporting.
Module leaders will also give overviews of EU institutions and policies, and brief participants on psychometric testing for ability and personality. Participants will be given tips and advised on study methods to be able to prepare themselves as best they can for competitions.
Optional mock exams will be assessed by specialised staff. Candidates may also sign up for additional training to address their weaknesses.
Mr Chircop said that the €345 workshop fee, exclusive of the €65 charge for the mock exam, was good value as candidates would not have to travel overseas for the training. The closing date for the workshop is December 17.
“The basic structure of the examinations as applicable to assistants is also the basic structure for the administrators at management level. The course is really open to all,” Mr Chircop pointed out.
“As this is our first event in our ‘Gateway’ project, we intend to fine-tune training to the requirements of specific calls and we intend to create a product list to coincide with EU vacancies as they arise.”
Mr Chircop said the MUC’s first foray in specific training for EU job applications will help the company identify the potential weak areas of the average Maltese applicant.
“If the numbers justify, we would be able to offer specialised training initiatives addressing these specifics. It could imply the intervention of occupational psychologists who could coach candidates on interviewing skills,” he added.
“We have the advantage of having University resources at our disposal and we are able to tap a network of external specialists in different fields for this and other MUC projects in a bid to bring academia and the business world closer together. We intend to work with stakeholders to identify market needs.”
Other events the MUC is planning include a workshop aimed at helping businesses and NGOs tap EU funding.