RECRUITMENT IN THAI CIVIL SERVICE

1. INTRODUCTION

It is apparent that recruitment is a key mechanism, underpinning good

government, which requires a highly competent people to work for the
benefits of the nation in an increasingly competitive global community. In
other words, a country cannot be of high standards and competitiveness
regardless of an efficient and effective recruitment.

The Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC), Royal Government

of Thailand is defined by the Civil Service Act, which spells out
responsibilities assigned to the Commission for ensuring the appointment of
officials to the Civil Service under its jurisdiction without prejudice to race,
religion, or origin. It is also recognized that OCSC should take initiatives
for improving the civil Service concerning recruitment, position
classification, compensation and welfare, training development, staff
retention, and disciplines.

With regard to recruitment, OCSC is geared towards delegating

recruitment tasks to allow departments the flexibility to recruit and select the
suitable person for their jobs, while maintaining the principles of fair and
equal opportunity in recruitment.

Notwithstanding some similarities of Thai recruitment system to those

of Asian neighbors, Thailand still has its uniqueness. For Thai nation,
government officials are viewed as servants of the King, taking full
responsibilities of undertaking services for the sake of Thai people and the
Nation.

2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

With reference to recruitment and selection, several Thai laws have

laid down a legal basis for undertaking recruiting and selecting tasks. These
laws, more or less, aim at ensuring a merit-based recruitment and selection
in Thai civil service while decentralizing decision-makings in recruitment
tasks to departments.
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Starting from the Thai Constitution of 2008 which has guaranteed
equality of Thai people as being prescribed in the part two of the
Constitution. In addition, the section 30 have clearly stated that male and
female shall enjoy equal rights. Unjust discrimination against a person on
grounds of difference in origin, race, sex, age, physical conditions or health,
economic or social status, religion belief, education or constitutionally
political view, which does not contravene the provisions of the
Constitutions, shall not be permitted.

The State Administrative Act of 2002 section 3/1 also emphasizes that
government administration must be of the benefits of Thai people; bring
about efficient and worthy results; promote minimized red tape; eliminate
unnecessary public services tasks; decentralize services and resources to
local communities; delegate decision makings; facilitate and respond to the
needs of Thai people with the persons accountable for the assignments.

Furthermore, the information Act of 1997 has allowed information

disclosure regarding public service tasks to the general public. The
applicants are able to, then, maintain their rights and monitor recruitment
procedures.

Indeed, the key legal mechanism that has formulated a recruitment

and selection framework for Thai civil service is “The Civil Service Act of
2008”. It determines authorities, role, responsibilities, and functions of the
OCSC in terms of position classification, recruitment and selection,
disciplines, compensation and welfare, and training development.

Accordingly, there are 4 categories of civil servant positions, as

follows:
(1) executive positions, namely heads of government agencies and
deputy heads of government agencies at ministerial and departmental levels
and other positions prescribed by the CSC as executive positions;
(2) managerial positions, namely heads of government agencies at
levels lower than departments and other positions prescribed by the CSC as
managerial positions;
(3) knowledge worker positions, namely positions which require
holders of bachelor degrees as prescribed by the CSC for performing duties
in such positions;
(4) general positions, namely positions which are not executive positions,
managerial positions and knowledge worker positions, as prescribed by the
CSC.
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In terms of executive positions and managerial positions, two levels
have been classified, namely primary level and higher lever. Regarding
knowledge worker positions, five levels have been classified , comprising
practitioner level, professional level, senior professional level, expert level,
and advisory level. As for general positions, four levels have been classified,
which are operational level, experienced level, senior level, and highly
skilled level.

Accordingly, entry levels are corresponding to educational qualities:

Certificate/Diploma holders can enter general positions at operational level
while Bachelor’s Degree holders or Master’s Degree holders and Doctorate’ s
holders can enter to knowledge worker positions at practitioner level.

In order to enter the civil service, a person must have general qualifications
and not be under a prohibition, as follows:

A. General Qualifications:
(1) being of Thai nationality;
(2) being at least 18 years of age;
(3) being a person with pure faith in the democratic form of government
with the King as Head of State;

B. Prohibitions:
(1) being a holder of a political position;
(2) being an incompetent person, quasi-incompetent person,insane
or mentally disabled person, or suffering from a disease prescribed by CSC
Regulation;
(3) being a person suspended from government service or temporarily
discharged from government service under this Act or other laws;
(4) being morally defective to the extent of being socially objectionable;
(5) being a committee member or holder of an executive position in
a political party or an officer of a political party;
(6) being adjudged bankrupt;
(7) having been imprisoned by final sentence of imprisonment for
a criminal offence, with the exception of sentences for offences committed
negligently or minor offences;
(8) having been punished by discharge, dismissal or expulsion from
a state enterprise or other state agencies;
(9) having been punished by discharge or dismissal for breach of
discipline under this Act or other laws;
(10) having been punished by expulsion for a breach of discipline
under this Act or other laws;
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(11) having cheated in an entrance examination for the government
service or for entry to work in other state agencies.

The CSC may consider a waiver and allow entry into the government
service for persons entering the civil service who are under the prohibitions
in B. (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) or (11), provided that in the case of the
prohibition under (8) or (9), such person must have already retired from
work or retired from government service for more than two years, and in the
case of the prohibition under (10), such person must have already retired
from work or retired from government service for more than three years, and
in no event shall the retirement from work or retirement from government
service be on account of malfeasance in office. A resolution of the CSC on
such waiver shall receive the votes of not less than four-fifths of the number
of commissioners present at the meeting. Votes shall be cast by secret ballot.

Apart from the general qualifications and prohibitions mentioned

earlier, a person appointed to any civil servant position must possess the
qualification requirement for such position as provided under the class
specifications, comprising 1) Knowledge , Law and Regulations concerned;
2) Necessary Skills (Computer, English Proficiency, Mathematics, Data
Management ) ; and 3) Competencies as identified.

Under The Civil Service Act of 2008, recruitment and selection of

Thai civil service is undertaken through three processes; namely,

competitive examinations;

selection; and

appointment of expert and specialist.

1) The Competitive Examination

According to the Civil Service Act of 2008, section 53, The instatement
of a person to the government service as a civil servant for appointment to
a particular position shall be made from candidates passing competitive
examination for such position and according to the order in the list of the
passing candidates.

Competitive examinations, lists of the passing candidates and

details on examinations shall be in accordance with rules, procedures and
conditions prescribed by the CSC.
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2) Selection
According to the Civil Service Act of 2008, section 55 provides an
exception in special circumstances where a competitive examination may be
deemed unnecessary, pursuant to the rules, procedures and conditions prescribed
by the CSC. Example of this is agencies can select graduates from universities
or educational institution operated by that agency and approved by the CSC,
or graduates with an educational background in needed fields.

The government scholarship program is another means of recruiting

qualified people into the Civil Service. The OCSC administers an annual
selection to seek competent students to study abroad. Scholarship holders
are appointed to the Civil Service after completing their studies.

3) Appointment of expert and specialist

Recruitment of experts and specialists is permitted by the Civil Service
Act of 2008, section 56. Departments may appoint a person containing a
particular knowledge, ability, expertise, and experiences from outside the
civil service to be experts or specialists, if necessary reasons have been
justified.

Under aforementioned legal framework, OCSC has issued CSC

circulars to determine content, methods, procedures, criteria for selection,
establishment and abolishment of eligible lists, including the transfer of
listed person from one list to another.

3. RECRUITMENT CONCEPT

It has become a common practice that recruitment and selection in Thai

Civil Service must be on the basis of the merit system, which are clarified by
neutrality, equality, fairness, and competence. In addition, the recruitment
of persons for instatement to the government service should be account for
the ethical behavior of such person as well as the benefits to the government
service.

Given recruiting the most suitable candidates for Thai civil service,
recruitment principles are clarified which are fairness, equity, transparency,
and standardization, with assurances that the selected candidates have been
assessed on the basis of their knowledge, abilities, and competencies related
to the given job.
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4. PRESENT RECRUITING MECHANISM

As mentioned earlier, recruitment and selection of Thai civil service is

undertaken through three processes including competitive examinations,
selection, and appointment of expert and specialist under jurisdiction of
CSC circulars. OCSC representatives will advise ministries and departments
to ensure their compliance to OCSC regulations as well as to promote
fairness, equity, transparency, and standardization in recruitment.

4.1 competitive examinations

In terms of the mechanism for competitive examinations, the CSC
circular 15/B.E. 2535 determines methods, procedures, criteria for selection,
curricula, establishment and abolishment of eligible lists, and the transfer of
listed person.

With regard to the curriculum for competitive examinations, it is aimed

to assess candidates with holistic approaches, which are classified into
three-fold:
1) Ability to learn to do the job, which means that candidates
can be developed or trained to do a job;
2) Ability to do the job, which refers to candidates’
knowledge and skills for that job; and
3) Ability to will do the job, which concerns candidates’
suitability for doing a job involving their behaviors,
attitudes, and personalities.

The examination curriculum must be, then, of three stages: General

Examination, Specific Examination, and Position Suitability Assessment.

The general examination has two components. The first
aims to measure general abilities, acquired information, and
analytical skills. Mathematics, verbal and reasoning skills
are included in the first part as there are assumed to reflect
the trainability of the applicant. The second component
focuses on the assessment of comprehension and expression
of the Thai language. The general knowledge examination
is administered by OCSC for certain degrees; for instance,
economics, law, computer, accounting, political science.

The specific examination measures skills or knowledge

specifically required to perform in a particular position. This
is administered by departments.
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The position suitability assessment aims to assess the
suitability of the person for the civil service and for a
particular position, through the review of personal history
and records, work experience, educational background as
well as observation of behaviors during the interview. The
interview is the key method for assessing suitability.
Through the interview, communication skills, emotional
stability, ethical principles, values as well as sociability and
capacity to adapt to the social environment, creativity and
personality will be also measured. This is also administered
by departments.

Attainment of a score of not less than 60% in each of three stages is

considered a passing score. Successful applicants will be ranked based on
their scores and placed on a list for appointment to the position for which
they applied. The list will remain current for a period of 2 years, and
applicants will be summoned to fill vacant posts in rank order.

42. Selection
Regarding those for selection, the CSC circular 1/B.E. 2536 determines
methods, procedures, criteria for selection, and circumstances that allow
departments to select a candidate for appointment, comprising a graduate of
universities or educational institution operated by that department and
approved by the CSC; graduates in necessary fields or degrees; government
scholarship recipients, for instance.

As for the case of graduates in necessary fields or degrees. This has been
designated by the CSC circular, of which the current one is CSC 11/B.E. 2545.
The list of necessary and priority fields, designated by the CSC as facing a
personnel shortage of those fields and where are few candidates for the
required positions, is reviewed every two years.

Such candidates may be selected through interview or other suitable

methods, and once selected must remain in the position for at least 1 year
and may not be transferred to other departments.

Concerning the government scholarship program, it has been

recognized as a key mechanism to recruit highly competent civil servants
and those with special qualifications needed in civil service. The practice of
sending competent students abroad began during the reign of King Rama the
Fifth. Currently, approximately 300 scholars are selected to study abroad
each year.
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The OCSC administers an annual competition to select qualified

students to study abroad under the government’s scholarship program
including the King’s Scholarship and the Royal Thai Government
Scholarship. In addition to the general competition, a special competition is
held for government personnel, lecturers in state universities, and other
officials who qualify for further training and studies.

It is the responsibility of the OCSC to place government scholarship

recipients in Thai civil service positions after graduation, in accordance with
CSC policies and directives, and in response to the manpower needs of
civilian ministries, public agencies, and departments.

4.3 Experts and Specialists Recruitment

Recruitment for experts and specialists recruitment is designated by
the CSC circular 16/B.E. 2536. Departments which require experts or
specialists have to request approval from the CSC and follow the placement
regulations specified by the CSC once the requests have been approved.

5. Selection Process : Shared Responsibility

In an attempt to select the most suitable candidates for departments,
partnership recruitment concept has been employed. In other words, OCSC
and department have joined in recruiting civil servants in the following aspects:
1) For the Bachelor’s Degree Holders: The OCSC provides tests
for the general examination which is either administered by
OCSC or departments. With the eligible lists of those passing
who got the general knowledge certificate, departments have,
then, conducted specific examination and position suitability
assessment.
2) For the Master’s Degree Holders: The OCSC administers the
general and specific examination every month whereas
departments have employed the eligible lists of those passing,
who got the general and specific certificate, to conduct their
own position suitability assessment.
3) As for the case of selection, the OCSC will provide
departments with the lists of graduates of necessary fields, who
came to register with OCSC. Departments shall employ those
lists, which is reviewed every two years, to conduct position
suitability assessment.

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