I am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that the Service recently held a competition to fill vacancies in the Work Training Officer grade. On conclusion of the short listing stage, an error in the manner in which marks were awarded for educational qualifications was identified. Some staff who had completed the level 6 Higher Certificate in Custodial Care (HCCC) were awarded 25 marks. Since September 2007, all Recruit Prison Officers are required to complete this certificate, which provides a mix of professional and vocational training that enhances the skills and knowledge of Prison Officers, as a condition of service. As this certification was not a condition of service for officers recruited prior to September 2007, to award marks for this qualification would unfairly disadvantage such staff. Accordingly, in order to ensure that officers who were recruited before the introduction of the HCCC would not be disadvantaged, these officers were also awarded 25 marks, equivalent to their HCCC-qualified colleagues. In many cases these officers already had a level 6 or higher relevant qualification and were not awarded any additional marks.
It is not the case that applicants who possessed higher qualifications for the advertised post were not given extra credit for the higher qualifications. Any applicant who had a relevant qualification at a higher level than the HCCC received the appropriate score for that qualification in line with the marking scheme outlined in the competition circular (see the following table).
National Framework of Qualifications
|
Marks awarded
|
Levels 1 - 3
|
15
|
Levels 4 - 5
|
20
|
Level 6
|
25
|
Level 7
|
30
|
Level 8
|
35
|
Level 9
|
40
|
Level 10
|
50
|
For example, an applicant for Work Training Officer - Integrated Sentence Management (ISM) and Work Training Officer - Catering posts with an honours degree (level 8) in Criminology would have been awarded an extra 10 marks (35 marks in total) for the ISM post but no extra marks for the Catering post. A qualification in Criminology is considered relevant for ISM and not for Catering. Applicants also had an opportunity during the competitive interview process to elaborate and show how their qualifications would be relevant to the posts sought.
I am satisfied that this is an acceptable scoring policy as part of a competitive merit-based promotion competition.