Civil service exam results valid for five years as AI checks set for year-end

Macau has extended the validity of civil service general assessment results from three to five years, while the government is developing an AI system to automate qualification checks, with trials expected to begin by the end of this year.

The government made the change in 2021 under an administrative regulation update, aiming to streamline the recruitment process and reduce the burden on candidates. The civil service general assessment, which covers language, logic and legal knowledge at different education levels, was detailed in a government reply to lawmaker Loi Ieng’s inquiry about recruitment reform.

According to the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), as laws and regulations are regularly updated, a five-year validity period strikes a reasonable balance. The bureau said it would keep the arrangement under review to ensure it remains relevant.

One of the biggest bottlenecks in the current system is the sheer volume of applications. In the last two rounds alone, nearly 10,000 candidates sat the secondary-level exam, and more than 10,000 applied for the bachelor-level test. That means a massive amount of paperwork for the examination board to verify.

The lawmaker has called for reforms to Macau’s civil service recruitment system, pointing out that the current process takes too long – nearly six months from application to final results – while the five-year validity period for assessment results often forces candidates to retake the exam due to limited job openings, incurring repeated fees and wasting public resources.

She urged the government to speed up the adoption of AI for qualification checks, as pledged in this year’s policy address, and to consider extending the validity period further – or even making it permanent, as in Hong Kong – to reduce redundant testing and improve efficiency.