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Document C2010/196A/01
Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/188/10 (AD 5) and EPSO/AD/189/10 (AD 7)
Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/188/10 (AD 5) and EPSO/AD/189/10 (AD 7)
Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/188/10 (AD 5) and EPSO/AD/189/10 (AD 7)
OJ C 196A, 20.7.2010, p. 1–7
(BG, EN, NL, RO, SL)
20.7.2010 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
CA 196/1 |
NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS
EPSO/AD/188/10 (AD 5) and EPSO/AD/189/10 (AD 7)
(2010/C 196 A/01)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit conference interpreters (1).
EPSO/AD/188/10 (grade AD 5) and EPSO/AD/189/10 (grade AD 7)
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INTERPRETERS for BULGARIAN (BG) |
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ENGLISH-LANGUAGE (EN) INTERPRETERS |
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DUTCH-LANGUAGE (NL) INTERPRETERS |
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INTERPRETERS for ROMANIAN (RO) |
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INTERPRETERS for SLOVENIAN (SL) |
The purpose of these competitions is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the institutions of the European Union, in particular Parliament, the Commission and the Court of Justice.
Before applying, you should read carefully the guide published in Official Journal C 184 A of 8 July 2010 and on the EPSO website.
This guide is an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the rules governing the procedure and how to apply.
CONTENTS
I. |
GENERAL BACKGROUND |
II. |
DUTIES |
III. |
ELIGIBILITY |
IV. |
ADMISSION TESTS |
V. |
ASSESSMENT CENTRE |
VI. |
RESERVE LISTS |
VII. |
HOW TO APPLY |
I. GENERAL BACKGROUND
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EPSO/AD/188/10 (grade AD 5) — EPSO/AD/189/10 (grade AD 7) |
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Each competition includes several languages and several options. You may apply for only one competition, one language and one option. You must make your choice when you apply on-line and you will not be able to change it after your on-line application form has been confirmed and validated. However, where a candidate does not have the required qualifications for the AD 7 competition but satisfies the eligibility requirements for the AD 5 competition, the selection board may, with the candidate's consent, reassign the application to the AD 5 competition. Similarly, where a candidate admitted to the AD 7 competition fails the interpretation tests in one of the three languages, but fulfils the requirements for passing the AD 5 competition, the selection board may offer to enter that candidate's name on the reserve list for the latter. Such reassignment, in order of merit, will be possible only in so far as there are available places on the reserve list for that competition. |
II. DUTIES
The job of interpreter calls for exceptional adaptability (frequent meetings and irregular hours) and the ability to grasp varied and often complex issues, to react swiftly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. You must be able to work frequently under pressure, both independently and as part of a team, and to adjust to a multicultural working environment. You will be expected to upgrade your professional skills — including technology — throughout your career. You may be asked to expand your language combination to meet the needs of the service (2).
The main duty of a conference interpreter is to ensure that the discussions held at various meetings are correctly interpreted into an official language of the European Union. This can entail either simultaneous or consecutive interpreting. Interpreters will be expected to study both the subject matter of meetings and terminology lists in advance.
Interpreters may also be required to evaluate the work of Auxiliary Conference Interpreters (freelancers) and to carry out administrative duties associated with interpreting.
Working as a conference interpreter can involve frequent travel, except in the case of interpreters at the Court of Justice, who work primarily in Luxembourg.
More information on the European Community's interpreting services can be found at:
http://europa.eu/interpretation/index_en.htm
III. ELIGIBILITY
, you must fulfil all the following general and specific conditions:
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Note: Experience as a court interpreter, liaison interpreter, company interpreter or interpreter for social or other public services will not be considered experience as a conference interpreter. |
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2.1 |
Qualifications |
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Either (a) |
You must have successfully completed a full course of training as a conference interpreter equivalent to four years of studies at university level and obtained the relevant qualification. |
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or (b) |
You must have a level of education which corresponds to full university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma AND completed training as a conference interpreter attested by a certificate or other proof of success. |
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or (c) |
You must have a level of education which corresponds to full university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma AND one year's professional experience as a conference interpreter, evidenced by documents clearly indicating the number of days worked as a conference interpreter. |
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2.2 |
Professional experience |
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Grade AD 5 No professional experience is required unless you are applying under III.2.1.(c), in which case the experience must have been gained since you obtained the first qualification required under that heading. |
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Grade AD 7 You must have at least four years' graduate-level professional experience gained since obtaining your first degree or diploma. Such professional experience must include at least 100 days of conference interpreting since the date when the condition set out in III.2.1(a), (b) or (c) was fulfilled. These four years must be additional to both the training as a conference interpreter evidenced by the relevant qualification and the one year of experience working as a conference interpreter required under III.2.1(b) or (c) above. |
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2.3 |
Knowledge of languages |
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The official languages of the European Union are: |
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BG (Bulgarian) CS (Czech) DA (Danish) DE (German) EL (Greek) EN (English) ES (Spanish) ET (Estonian) |
FI (Finnish) FR (French) GA (Irish) HU (Hungarian) IT (Italian) LT (Lithuanian) LV (Latvian) MT (Maltese) |
NL (Dutch) PL (Polish) PT (Portuguese) RO (Romanian) SK (Slovak) SL (Slovenian) SV (Swedish) |
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For recruitment to the Court of Justice, an understanding of written French is required. Your knowledge of languages must be proven by supporting documents, which should be attached to your full application. If you have no such supporting documents, you should explain in detail, on a separate sheet, how you acquired such knowledge. ‘Language combination’ means the languages used by conference interpreters in their work. Working languages are either ‘active’ or ‘passive’ languages, and are defined below as ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ languages. |
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Active languages |
Language ‘A’ or ‘A*’: Your main language (mother tongue or an exact equivalent), of which you have a perfect command and into which you work from all your working languages, both simultaneously and consecutively. Language ‘B’: Although not your main language, a language of which you have a full command and into which you interpret from language A, either simultaneously or consecutively. |
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Passive languages |
Language ‘C’: Language from which you interpret and which you understand fully. |
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Note |
Please note that your general competencies will be tested at the assessment centre in English (EN), French (FR) or German (DE); the language chosen must be different from active language A or A*. |
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2.3.1 |
Language combinations required for the following languages:
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Grade AD 5 |
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Option 1(a) (A+CC) |
Active A language: Bulgarian, Romanian or Slovenian Passive C languages:
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Option 2(a) (A+B) |
Active A language: Bulgarian, Romanian or Slovenian Active B language:
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Option 3(a) (A*+CC) |
Active A* language:
Passive C languages:
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Grade AD 7 |
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Option 1(b) (A+CCC) |
Active A language: Bulgarian, Romanian or Slovenian passive C languages:
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Option 2(b) (A+B+C) |
Active A language: Bulgarian, Romanian or Slovenian Active B language:
Passive C language:
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Option 3(b) (A*+CCC) |
Active A* language:
Passive C languages:
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2.3.2 |
Language combinations required for the following languages:
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Grade AD 5 |
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Option 1(c) (A+CC) |
Active A language: English or Dutch Passive C languages:
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Grade AD 7 |
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Option 1(d) (A+CCC) |
Active A language: English or Dutch Passive C languages:
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Option 2(d) (A+B+C) |
Active A language: English or Dutch Active B language:
Passive C language:
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IV. ADMISSION TESTS
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, you have declared that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in section III. |
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A series of tests comprising multiple-choice questions to assess your general ability as regards: |
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Test (a) language |
Verbal reasoning Active A or A* |
This test will be marked out of 20 Pass mark: 10 |
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Test (b) language |
Numerical reasoning Active A or A* |
This test will be marked out of 10 |
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Test (c) language |
Abstract reasoning Active A or A* |
This test will be marked out of 10 |
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Aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c): 8 |
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Test (d) language |
Verbal reasoning Active B (for options 2(a), 2(b) and 2(d)) Passive C1 (for the other options) |
This test will be marked out of 10 Pass mark: 5 |
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Test (e) language |
Verbal reasoning Active B (second test) (for option 2(a)) Passive C (for options 2(b) and 2(d)) Passive C2 (for the other options) |
This test will be marked out of 10 Pass mark: 5 |
V. ASSESSMENT CENTRE
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Nature, marking and time allowed |
For the competition at AD 5 level, a intermediate interpreting test will be held. This test consists in the simultaneous interpretation of a recorded speech. It may involve the use of audio-visual material at a test centre. Language: candidates have the choice between a speech in English, French or German; the language chosen must be different from their active language. Candidates who have applied for option 2a may also choose a speech in Dutch, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. Time allowed: approximately 12 minutes This test will be marked out of 20 Pass mark: 10 The marks obtained in this test will not be added to those obtained in the assessment centre session. |
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You will be assessed in Brussels, normally during a two-day session:
More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the guide to open competitions. These competencies will be tested in English (EN), French (FR) or German (DE) (this language must be different from active language A or A*) by means of:
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Grade AD 5: Each interpretation test will be marked out of 30 Pass mark for each test: 15 Grade AD 7: Each interpretation test will be marked out of 30 Pass mark for each test: 15
Grade AD 5: These competencies combined will be marked out of 40 Pass mark: 20 Grade AD 7: These competencies combined will be marked out of 60 (3) Pass mark: 30 |
VI. RESERVE LISTS
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The selection board will place you on the reserve list (see the number of successful candidates in section I.1) (4) if you are among the candidates having obtained pass marks and the highest aggregate marks in the tests held at the assessment centre. |
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Reserve lists will be drawn up by competition and names will be listed in alphabetical order. |
VII. HOW TO APPLY
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You must apply on-line following the instructions on the EPSO website. Deadline: 19 August 2010 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time |
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In parallel with your on-line application, you must print out a copy of your validated on-line application form, sign it and send it together with the relevant supporting documents to the following address:
Closing date: 19 August 2010 Details: See point 2 of the guide to open competitions. |
(1) Any reference in this notice to a person of the male sex should be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of the female sex.
(2) For successful candidates recruited by the European Parliament, this will be considered a duty of service.
(3) In the event of a reassignment to the reserve list of the AD 5 competition (see section I.2), the marks attributed in the general competencies tests will be recalculated on the basis of 40 instead of 60.
(4) Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be placed on the reserve list.