Representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) exchanged experience in civil service examinations during a workshop in the northern port city of Hai Phong on February 29.

Deputy head of the training and recruitment division under the Hanoi Department of Home Affairs Tran Thi Thu Ha said Vietnam and Japan shared similarities in the field such as the decentralization of the recruitment of public servants, the forms of examination like writing, multiple choice questions and interviews, and basic steps in organising examinations.

Representative from JICA to Vietnam Kakioka Naoki speaking at the seminar

The fundamental difference is that in Japan, high school graduates can also sit for civil service examinations while in Vietnam, only graduates from college and university are eligible to attend, she noted.

According to the official, in 2015, the Hanoi People’s Committee entrusted the Department of Home Affairs to open two short-term training courses for 120 officials from agencies in charge of recruiting civil workers. Experts from Japan were invited to lecture on skills in drafting exam questions and interviewing, which were appreciated by the courses’ participants.

She proposed reforming the recruitment of public servants in Vietnam, stressing the need to develop legal documents to ensure publicity, transparency, and efficiency.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan highly appreciated the recommendations of participants at the workshop, which he said will make significant contributions to the reform of civil service examinations.

Source: VNA