1. Recruitment Highlights from Belgium
P.A.S. & R …
Sofia Eupan Meeting - 10 & 11 April 2018
Véronique Wathieu

2. BOSA P A S Previously Acquired Skills R a programming language

3. Previously Acquired Skills
In the Recruitment and Selection Process of the
Belgian Federal Public Administration

4. Background Camu Statute Competency model central to HR processes
Fact : 1 (open) function -> 1 level = 1 degree/diploma
Level A - Master (+5)
Level B - Bachelor (+3)
Level C - Secondary school
Level D - none
Screening model

5. Verify participation conditions
Incl. diploma check …

6. -> How to organize which exceptions ?
Reality
Some profiles are difficult to find
Learning is not only on school benches
Willingness to give a chance to underqualified
-> How to organize which exceptions ?

7. Check diploma linked to job level (A,B,C,D)
EXCEPTIONS
Check diploma linked to job level (A,B,C,D)
1 – Civil servant at that level
2 – Access Card procedure
3 – Labor Market Shortage procedure
Check experience & skills as in job posting
NO EXCEPTIONS

8. The 2 « PAS » procedures Access Card procedure Shortage procedure
Willingness to open to a specific (under-qualified) group
Historical case : function of jail guards weighted as C_Level
Solution : Selor certifying test to “replace” the missing diploma
Exemption for 1 level, in some circumstances
Necessity because of shortage on the labor market
IT & Web Management functions, finance, …
Solution: (for non protected professions), open the job to lower/other degree with experience
Exemption for 1 selection

9. Access Card - How does it work ?
Recruiting organization asks for authorization
Selor advises : regulated professions, risks, …
Ministerial decree
The job posting can be published as “open to access card holders” 
Takes part to Access Card Tests organized by Selor (level specific)
Passing? Granted an Access Card (level specific)
Valid for 5 years
Replaces the diploma in module 0 (level specific)
Only valid for jobs identified as “open to access card holders”

10. Access Card - Selection process
 Targeted candidates are reached
Heavy procedure, to be repeated
Extra Costs (organize tests sessions, occupation PC classroom, purchase of tests)
Extends the duration of selection process
Risks - conflict with schools workload 
-> limited use

11. Shortage Procedure - How does it work ?
Recruiting organization asks for authorization
Selor advises : reality of shortage, requested experience, regulated professions, risks, …
Minister agrees
The job posting is published with focus on the required skills, lower degree required when sufficient experience 
Candidate gets one opportunity to apply for a specific job linked to a level above his actual diploma

12. Shortage procedure - Selection process
It works : get more candidates
Lighter procedure but still to be repeated
No negative impact on cost or duration
No risk of conflict with schools/academics : give value to experience & skills within a specific job context
TO BE -> make it more structural

13. R Analyzing results of Selection examinations with R
Contact

14. The R Project for Statistical Computing
Software Environment for Statistical Computing & Graphics
Data handling & storage facility
Intermediate tools for data analysis
Graphical facilities
Programming language
Open source project - Free

15. The R Project for Statistical Computing
Community driven
Academic & industrial
High quality statistical packages
Knowledge sharing community
Numerous resources (StackOverflow, mailing lists, academic packages, …)

16. The R Project @ BOSA - DG RD
Team
Data Science
DG RD
Automatic score calculation
Automatic item-analysis / item-generation
Custom KPI dashboards
Ad hoc analysis and many visualizations (surveys, data mining, training) …

17. Example - Automatic score calculation
Extract data from multiple resources 
Transform, combine, standardize, validate data 
Apply scoring algorithms
raw/norm scores 
Store data & logs, import to DB, feedback to candidate 
Automatic log of data & analysis steps
Reproducibility … objectivity

19. The R Project @ BOSA - DG RD
Automatic access to databases
IT supports open source software
Microsoft SQL R integrations

20. The R project – A data science expert
R was designed for the job
Quality packages, visuals, ..
Historical log, reproducibility
No black box
Open
Steep learning curve
community, resources
Free
No lock in
Dependencies on open source packages ~ versioning

21. The R project – A selection expert
Score calculation process
Candidates get results faster
Automatic update
Less risk of error
Flexible monitoring
Managed in the business
Selection expert to accept to loose full control
IT-event dependent