Some 14,000 residents of Macau with university degrees have undertaken the Civil Servants unified admission exam to potentially commence a career in government.
The exam took place recently across several school institutions.
Initially, over 17,000 registered to take part in the exam which resulted in a 83% participation rate.
According to a report from TDM TV, many of the participants found the exam challenging due to many of the questions testing logical reasoning.
In the past, the exam was comprised of a very high number of questions related to laws, namely the Statute of Civil Servants as well as other government-related administrative regulations.
This time, the number of questions that appealed to logical reasoning and language comprehension seems to have caught some by surprise.
“I thought there would be more questions about laws or mathematics but [in reality] the [exam focused] more on language skills and comprehension,” an examinee interviewed by TDM after the exam said.
Another of the examinees attempting the 430 Exam for the first time since “the last time [in 2021] many people failed to pass the exam so I decided to challenge myself and see if I could do it,” he said, adding that the wages as well as many other benefits that civil servants enjoy are the main motivations to seek a job in the administration.
Back in 2021, only around 6,000 candidates (38%) passed the exam.
The Comprehensive Civil Service Degree Level, also known as the “430 exam,” is the first step for those wishing to have a career as a civil servant.
The results from the exam will be valid for a period of five years, with those approved being able to then submit applications to specific job offerings in the government’s different departments. Among those are senior technicians, veterinarians, and translators, among others.
Several of the interviewees noted the higher wages and stronger benefits when compared with the private sector, as well as job security, as motivations to attempt a job in the government sector.
