An acute shortage of clerical staff within the health services has led to a union-management agreement that the Leaving Certificate would no longer be required for applicants for clerical officer positions.
Up to this, anyone applying to be a clerical officer in the public service needed a minimum of five passes in Leaving Certificate subjects. The new agreement will allow candidates who have passed an examination of comparable standard to be considered.
Furthermore, candidates "with relevant experience which encompasses demonstrable equivalent skills" will also be eligible for employment by the health boards. This is seen as a major step forward by the Hospital Services Employers Association, which has been facing major problems in recruiting and retaining clerical staff for some time.
A spokeswoman for the HSEA said the initiative was primarily aimed at addressing the recruitment difficulties being experienced by the health boards, hospitals and other areas of health service employment. The Leaving Certificate would continue to play a major role, she emphasised, particularly in the recruitment of young candidates.
However, it is believed that extending the eligibility criteria to include people with relevant experience and equivalent skills would give the health services access to a rich pool of mature workers, she said. This group, which might include mothers who had reared their families and were seeking to return to work.