Applicant pool ‘disappointing’ for some top Civil Service posts

The quality of the applicant pools for some competitions for senior Civil Service positions has been disappointing, the chair of the committee charged with identifying and recommending candidates has told the Government.

However, in her foreword to its second report to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the chairwoman of the top-level appointments committee (TLAC), Dr Dorothy Scally, said the applicant pools presented from within Civil Service departments and from the public service and private sector had, in general, produced strong, competitive candidates for senior management positions.

The TLAC was established in 1984, and its function is to recommend candidates to ministers and the Government for senior positions in the Civil Service – at assistant secretary level and upwards.

The report said a survey of secretaries general in Government departments by the Public Appointments Service found they were generally satisfied that strong Civil Service applicants were applying for senior posts.

Concern

However, it said “some concern was expressed in relation to the number of capable people who do not put themselves forward and the fact that some posts do not attract as strong an applicant pool as others”.

“While the increased number of Civil Service applicants in 2013 is a positive development, the decrease in applications from women over the last few competitions is a concern that should be explored further.”

“Interest from the private sector in TLAC level posts has remained relatively high. Private sector applicants put forward for TLAC interviews have been of a high calibre.

“A significant proportion of the private sector applicant pool, however, was not at the right level of seniority, or did not have the required experience, for the posts for which they applied.”

The secretaries general surveyed expressed the view that, while there were generally strong Civil Service applicants for most posts, it was important to be able to attract strong candidates from the public and private sectors, particularly in relation to more specialist posts that might require skills not present within the Civil Service.

During 2013, the TLAC oversaw the recruitment process for 21 posts.