Candidates interested in applying for AO, EOII, ALOII, ATOII, MSOII and TOII posts reminded to apply for Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test

     The Government announced today (August 6) that the next round of recruitment exercises for the posts of Administrative Officer (AO), Executive Officer II (EOII), Assistant Labour Officer II (ALOII), Assistant Trade Officer II (ATOII), Management Services Officer II (MSOII) and Transport Officer II (TOII) will begin in September 2021.
 
     As part of the entry requirements, applicants for these posts will need to have obtained:

(a) Level 2 in the two language papers (Use of Chinese and Use of English) in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) or equivalent results;
(b) a Pass result in the Aptitude Test (AT) paper in the CRE; and
(c) a Pass result in the Basic Law Test (BLT) (degree/professional grades).

     All applicants for civil service jobs will be assessed on their Basic Law knowledge. For all civil service recruitment exercises advertised on or after August 6, 2021, a pass result in the BLT is an entry requirement for civil service jobs requiring degree/professional qualifications. Only those candidates who have passed the BLT will be considered for appointment. Attaining a score at or above 53 out of the full mark of 100 (i.e. answering at least 8 out of 15 questions correct) will be deemed to represent a pass result in the BLT. The BLT result will also constitute an appropriate weighting in a candidate's overall assessment.
 
     The CRE and BLT will be held in Hong Kong, and tentatively in Beijing and six overseas cities. The details are set out below:
 

Location Application period
(Hong Kong time)		 Examination date
(tentative)
Hong Kong August 7 to
August 20 (5pm)		 October 2 and 9
(or another date within October if necessary)
Beijing and six overseas cities (namely London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney) (tentative) To be announced later December 4
 

     In light of the evolving situation of COVID-19, the Civil Service Bureau will adjust the arrangements for the examination if the situation warrants. Examinations to be held outside Hong Kong are subject to regulations and prevailing measures in that particular city and they may be deferred or cancelled in light of the situation of COVID-19. Candidates who wish to take the coming CRE and BLT should refer to the website of the Civil Service Bureau at www.csb.gov.hk/eng/cre.html for any updates of the examination arrangements.
 
     Details relating to the CRE and BLT and an online application system will also be made available on the above website during the respective application periods, while details of the 2021-22 AO, EOII, ALOII, ATOII, MSOII and TOII recruitment exercises will be separately announced in September.
 
     Candidates who later submit an application for these posts will not automatically be given places at the coming CRE and BLT. Therefore, candidates who wish to apply for these posts in the 2021-22 recruitment exercises but do not possess the requisite CRE results or equivalent results, and/or those without a pass result in the BLT, should file a separate application to take the relevant CRE paper(s) and/or BLT during the relevant application periods. All CRE and/or BLT applicants may apply to take the examination in either Hong Kong or any one of the above-mentioned cities outside Hong Kong (i.e. Beijing and six overseas cities), but not both.