Positive effects from Customs officials competency assessment

Team-level leaders of the branch and equivalent participate in the 2023 competency assessment. Photo: Q.Hùng

10,300 customs officials participated in competency assessment

Due to the increasing volume of import and export activities, the workload has increased rapidly while the workforce has not been proportionally increased. As a solution, the Customs Department has implemented both the increased application of information technology to support work processing and continued reforms in human resources management.

In 2008, Hai Phong Customs was the pioneer in implementing competency assessment (CA). Subsequently, in 2009, Dong Nai Customs built a departmental-level topic "Building a program to check and assess the competence of civil servants". The topic has built a software program for checking and assessing the competence of civil servants and serves as a basis for implementation throughout the Department.

Following the success of the above two units, the organization of CA was expanded to 9 out of 35 Customs Departments: Binh Duong, Lang Son, Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien Hue, Bac Ninh, Lang Son, Gia Lai - Kon Tum, Quang Ninh; Hanoi, Da Nang. The units have initially assessed the officials' ability to understand the main professional documents of the sector, thereby promoting the learning movement and improving the capacity of the unit's officials. However, due to the lack of a competency framework for each job position as well as limited resources, the test sets have only reached a simple level, not ensuring a scientific and comprehensive assessment according to the required competencies of a job position.

To ensure scientific and unified nature throughout the sector, implementing Directive 3957/CT-TCHQ dated May 12, 2016 of the Director General of Vietnam Customs on promoting the innovation of human resource management based on job positions in the period 2016-2020, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has built and piloted a CA system based on the competency framework of each job position in the import-export duty field at Dong Nai Customs, implemented in 2016.

After a pilot period in 2018-2019, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has deployed the expansion of CA activities on a nationwide scale for nearly 5,000 civil servants who do not hold leadership positions in 8 main professional fields, including: supervision and management, import-export taxes, anti-smuggling, post-clearance inspection, risk management, violation handling, inspection, and testing from the General Department level to the Customs Branch level.

After 4 years of implementation, in 2023, the General Department of Vietnam Customs continued to expand the CA to the subject of team leaders at the Customs Branch level and equivalent positions working in 8 main professional fields, raising the total number of civil servants who have been assessed through 2 CA periods to over 10,300 civil servants.

The CA is conducted through 60-minute computer-based multiple-choice tests. Based on the required competencies of each job position, each position will have a different test structure, ensuring the principle that "officials are tested on what they do".

The process of organizing the assessment of civil servants is carried out systematically by the General Department of Vietnam Customs with the issuance of a system of documents regulating the assessment method, building software, building regulations for organizing the assessment; guiding the organization of implementation... ensuring that the assessment work is carried out in accordance with current legal documents and delegated personnel management authority. The organization of the assessment of more than 5,000 civil servants in the sector has been operated smoothly and achieved the set goals. In particular, the organization of review and preparation for civil servants to attend the assessment period has been paid attention to and organized systematically by the units in the sector.

Improving the efficiency of using officials

After nearly 6 years, the competency assessment (CA) system of the General Department of Vietnam Customs has been highly appreciated by leaders at all levels in the Customs sector and a majority of civil servants working in specialized professional fields of the sector, and they have requested to continue promoting it in the following stages. The organization of CA for customs officials has ensured fairness, competition, and transparent and accurate differentiation of proficiency levels.

The CA results have been highly appreciated by Customs leaders at all levels and participating civil servants due to their high applicability in personnel work such as serving the arrangement, assignment of work, training, planning, and appointment of personnel.

As a unit located in a mountainous area with a complex and difficult terrain and a small number of staff, Ha Giang Customs has 103 civil servants, with 48 civil servants taking the CA exam in 2023. As a result, 100% of the participating civil servants achieved the required CA results, with no cases requiring re-examination or handling of personnel organization issues. 50% of the candidates achieved a score of 90 points or above. The majority of candidates achieved a CA level 3 (77% of candidates).

Deputy Director of Ha Giang Customs Nguyen Minh Thanh said that the competency assessment exam for non-leadership civil servants has helped Ha Giang Customs identify the competency status of civil servants as a basis for effectively and scientifically arranging and using civil servants, meeting the requirements of the reform and modernization task.

According to Deputy Director of Da Nang Customs Dang Thi Le Hoa, through the CA results, the Department has timely built a training plan to supplement knowledge and skills for civil servants, and applied the CA results to the work of transferring, changing job positions, arranging the right people for the right job, and improving the efficiency of using civil servants to meet the requirements of the task. Moreover, the Department has selected a team of civil servants to participate in expert groups in all professional fields, planning a source of leaders at all levels for civil servants with excellent CA results.

In the coming time, the General Department of Vietnam Customs will continue to improve the CA system for civil servants in terms of methods, test sets, and CA software, ensuring accurate assessment and close to the actual practice of the sector. This serves as a basis for continuing to deploy CA for specialized professional civil servants throughout the sector. Thereby, improving the efficiency of using civil servants, enhancing the capacity of the Customs workforce, helping to achieve the set goals, and meeting the increasingly high demands of the State and society on the Customs sector.