The CSC aims to integrate competencies in human resource systems of government agencies, starting with recruitment. Thus, the Competency-Based Recruitment and Qualifications Standards (CBRQS) was born. With this program, the CSC recognizes that hiring and retaining the best employees will lay the foundation for developing high performing, competent, and credible civil servants.

A competency is often defined as a set of observable, measurable, and vital skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are translations of capabilities deemed essential for organizational success.


Qualification Standards + Competencies

The current recruitment system in the Philippine civil service is based on Qualification Standards (QS), a minimum set of requirements comprised of education, eligibility, training, and experience.


The CBRQS adds competencies to the minimum QS requirements to improve accuracy in assessing a candidate’s fitness to a particular job.

Moreover, the competency framework or model is aligned to the agency’s strategic thrusts, ensuring that each employee is able to contribute to organization-wide goals.


Why Competency-Based Recruitment?

  1. Competencies serve as objective guide in the assessment of candidates; hence it improves accuracy in assessing candidate’s fitness to a particular job.
  2. Competency-based recruitment minimizes hiring errors as it helps prevent interviewers and selectors from assessing interviewees on the basis of characteristics that are not relevant to the job or from making hasty decisions.
  3. Competency-based recruitment leads to a standardized or structured selection process since the same metrics are used to assess all applicants to the same position.
  4. Competency-based recruitment provides clarity for the recruiters and candidates as well about the requirements for the vacant position to be filled.


Status of the Program

At present, the CSC has begun applying competencies to its own recruitment process as it hopes to be a model in competency-based human resource management for other government agencies.