Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf Administration has made applying for hundreds of state and county civil service jobs easier. People will now use an improved online application process rather than travel to a regional center to take an exam.
"Going to a civil service test center can be a challenge for many job seekers, especially those who are currently employed, rely on public transportation or require an accommodation," said Secretary of Administration Michael Newsome. "Our goal is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for candidates to apply jobs in public service."
Under the new process, individuals submit an online job application that includes supplemental questions about their experience and training. Applicants who meet the minimum requirements may to apply to specific caseworker vacancies posted by counties at www.employment.pa.gov.
Previously, individuals had to submit a job application online and then schedule an appointment to complete a civil service examination at one of seven test centers. Applicants would be ranked on a list based on their examination scores to be contacted when vacancies became open.
However, many applicants to civil service positions never follow through with the exam. The loss rate varies by position, but ranges from 30 to 75 percent.
Over the past year, the Office of Administration (OA) has worked with the State Civil Service Commission (SCSC) to update applications for over 300 state and county positions so that they can be completed entirely online.
One of the updated job applications is for county caseworkers, which are among the most frequently-filled civil service positions in the state. In 2018, job seekers submitted over 8,500 applications through the state employment website for caseworker positions in 47 counties.
The effort is the latest initiative led by OA to modernize the hiring process. Other recent improvements include establishing a single website to view and apply for jobs (previously there were two websites), rewriting job postings to describe specific vacancies instead of general job categories and redesigning the employment website to be more appealing and user friendly.
Last year, Governor Wolf signed Act 71 with unanimous support from the General Assembly to transfer responsibility for civil service recruitment and hiring from SCSC to OA. The two agencies are working to implement the legislation in preparation for the March 28, 2019 effective date.
You can learn more at https://www.oa.pa.gov/About%20OA/Pages/Hiring-Modernization.aspx.
Media contact: Dan Egan, 717-772-4237
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