Sharing experiences on equal access to the civil service in Costa Rica

SOCIEUX+ EU Expertise on Social Protection, Labour and Employment, is cooperating with the Directorate General of the Civil Service (DGSC) of Costa Rica in an action to make access to the nation’s civil service more equitable, efficient, and effective.

The action, which began in May 2021 with an exploratory mission, plans to conduct four activities by April 2022. The exploratory mission, carried out on site, provided an understanding of the management and recruitment processes for public administrative and teaching staff in the Costa Rican Civil Service.

The team mobilised by SOCIEUX+ consisted of two Spanish public experts, Sonsoles Jiménez and Rosa Almela, both civil servants with the regional Department of Education of the Community of Valencia, carried out initial fieldwork to assess the feasibility of technical cooperation and to construct a work plan with DGSC. This plan provides guidance for the cooperation activities to assist DGSC in transforming and automating the personnel recruitment and selection processes for civil servants in the administrative, teaching, and artistic fields

The objectives of the action are to develop a transparent selection model that improves the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment for civil servant positions, both in the administrative and education sectors, and to provide updated and accessible job postings, considering the needs of the institutions and ministries under DGSC. Improvements in recruitment focus on targeting individuals that are able to competently serve in a public capacity and meet the unique challenges of that environment.

During the first activity in August and September, the experts mobilised by SOCIEUX+ met with representatives of the Personnel Recruitment and Selection and Teaching Career Areas, the Information Technology Unit, and the Human Resources Area. They also met with officials from the Ministries of Public Education, Culture and Youth, and Public Works and Transport, as well as various public institutions that submit job applications to DGSC. Those meetings provided a holistic view of the entire recruitment and selection process.

During the initial activity the Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Mr. Marvin Rodriguez, was also informed of the objectives of the mission. Mr. Rodriguez showed great interest in the objectives of the research mission and highlighted the importance of technical cooperation activities as a strategic tool, since they allow the sharing of technologies, knowledge, experiences, and high-quality resources.

During the final debriefing with the Directorate General of the Civil Service, in which both the director general and the area directors participated, the experts mobilised by SOCIEUX+ shared the results and conclusions of the fact-finding mission, and agreed on the implementation of various activities that will help modernise and automate the recruitment and selection of personnel, establish procedures for conducting specific skills tests, and produce an application guide for human resources offices to validate the suitability of candidates for positions offered by the Costa Rican DGSC.

(SOCIEUX+ 2021-12 Costa Rica)