As the Deputy will be aware, the last open and interdepartmental standard Assistant Principal Officer competitions were held in June 2015 and is currently being used to fill existing vacancies at Assistant Principal Officer level in the Civil Service. Such panels usually last for a period of between eighteen months to two years.
A competition for Human Resource Managers at Assistant Principal Officer level was advertised by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) last Thursday 4 November 2016.
While my officials and officials in PAS are discussing the possibility of further competitions including at Assistant Principal Officer level, it is not possible at this time to confirm when such a competition may be held.