Success profiles: candidate guide

Technical skills

The technical element of the Success Profile is the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications. There are more than 20 professions in the Civil Service with a wide range of roles available, some of which are specialised. The specific skills, knowledge or qualifications required for these roles will be defined by each Head of Profession.

Why we assess technical skills

The roles within professions are sometimes specialised and you may be asked to show that you have specific skills, knowledge or qualifications to be successful.

An example of a specialised role is a Government Finance Officer, this may require candidates to have accountancy qualifications and knowledge of the way Finance is managed within Government.

How we assess technical skills

A number of the professions have  frameworks which have been designed to assess the specific skills, qualifications and knowledge needed for roles within that profession. If the role you are applying for requires technical skills, the requirements will be included within the job advert.

Some of the assessment methods which may be used to assess your technical skills include:

• the application form
• your CV
• an interview
• technical presentations and exercises
• technical test(s)
• a presentation
• work sample(s)
• an in-tray exercise
• a job related simulation
• an oral briefing exercise
• a written analysis or exercise
• an assessment centre

If there is a requirement for a particular qualification or membership of a professional body, you may be asked to provide evidence of your qualification(s) or membership.

Your technical/professional skills may be assessed alongside other elements of the Success Profile to get a more rounded picture of your suitability for the role. The job description will outline the elements required for the role and the selection method(s) that will be used.