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Equal opportunities for protected categories in public competitions

Equal opportunities for protected categories in public competitions: a model of inclusiveness

Posted on | by Luciano Torrente

On 11 March, at Fiera di Roma, we managed the competition for 74 assistants in protected categories for ADM (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli), ready to welcome 2,359 candidates in a fully accessible space structured to guarantee equal opportunities for all.

Accessibility and inclusion are fundamental in public competitions, especially for protected categories. Organizing competitions in a well-equipped venue, rather than remotely, is essential to ensure a fair and welcoming environment that meets the needs of all candidates.

In an appropriate location, candidates with disabilities can count on specific support, immediate qualified assistance and optimal conditions that reduce the risk of technical difficulties or isolation. The presence of experienced staff and accessible tools allows any needs to be addressed in real time, ensuring a relaxed and barrier-free selection experience.

An inclusive and efficient event 

To achieve this, we have set up a dedicated team of more than 70 people, consisting of: 

  • Specialised technicians for IT and logistical support. 
  • Hostesses for candidate recognition and tutoring during the event. 
  • Sign language interpreters to facilitate communication with deaf participants. 
  • Surveillance staff to ensure order and security during the test. 

Total accessibility and customised support 

We structured the event in an environment that guaranteed maximum comfort and full accessibility: 

  • A main pavilion with 2,496 seats, designed to accommodate all candidates in one barrier-free area. 
  • A reception pavilion for registration and information. 
  • A dedicated nursery to support those with family care needs. 
  • A Priority workstation to meet the specific needs of candidates with special disabilities, ensuring facilitated access and targeted support. 

Inclusive technology for fair selection 

The use of technology was central in ensuring a fair and unhindered experience. Candidates were provided with tablets configured for different needs, allowing personalised access to the test and minimising any technical difficulties. 

 

Organisational efficiency: optimised time and respect for individual needs 

The event was organised to ensure smooth and optimised time management in order to minimise inconvenience to participants: in just 180 minutes, from entry to exit of the candidates (identification, check-in, tablet delivery and check-out) and 60 minutes of trial time, with an additional 18 minutes for those who were eligible. 

A tangible commitment to equal access 

This event is a real example of how a public competition can be organized to ensure equal opportunities, inclusiveness and efficiency. The commitment to creating a welcoming and accessible environment is fundamental to promote a selection process that increasingly respects diversity and the rights of all candidates. 

We will continue to work to make public competitions a model of inclusion, demonstrating that accessibility and innovation can go hand in hand in ensuring a fairer future for all. 

 

Concorso categorie protette Fiera di Roma: Recrytera per l'inclusione

Competition for protected categories Fiera di Roma: Recrytera for inclusion

Posted on | by Luciano Torrente

Last 30 July 2024, Recrytera managed at the Nuova Fiera di Roma the public competition held by the Ministry of Health and aimed at recruiting 11 non-managerial staff units to be placed in the Area of Assistants and reserved exclusively for protected categories.

The candidate recognition operations started punctually at 8.30 a.m. and, to make the wait less burdensome due to the high temperatures, the organisation managed by Recrytera provided a pavilion specifically for refreshments, equipped with air conditioning and a bar service available for the candidates and their companions.

The only scheduled examination session took place in great order and in total safety of each participant: each desk was placed at a minimum distance of 2 metres, while for extremely fragile subjects who needed more silence the distance provided was increased to 3 metres. Each participant in the competition used the computer tools and aids required and made available by Recrytera to cope as well as possible with the examination in accordance with the principles of transparency and equality.

Also immediate was the correction of the scores and the return of the results to the Examination Committee, which was followed, as agreed, by publication the following day.

Once again Recrytera has proved to be the leader in the fully digital management of public competitions and the number one partner of the Public Administration thanks to its focus on candidate satisfaction, security of the test and guarantee of the procedure, aspects aimed at maintaining the principles of equal opportunities and fairness and transparency of the selection process.

These aspects represent the long-standing goal of Recrytera, whose experience in the innovative and careful management of selection procedures has allowed for flawless handling of even the most delicate situations.

Tablet vs. proctoring competitions: which implications for candidate stress

Tablet vs. proctoring competitions: which implications for candidate stress?

Posted on | by Luciano Torrente

Preparation for public competitions requires significant commitment and a well-defined strategy; however, it is often accompanied by a considerable level of stress for aspiring candidates. Managing studies and personal life can be particularly challenging, but thanks to technological innovations in recent years, there is a path towards a more efficient and less stressful process for all participants. The introduction of tablets during competitive examinations has brought about a significant change, offering a more modern solution adapted to the needs of competitors.

Impact of technology on stress in public competitions

It is not unusual for candidates to experience a high level of emotional stress in the run-up to a competition. The competition poses a considerable challenge for those preparing for it. The pressure associated with the amount of study required to tackle tests that can influence the course of one’s career is considerable. However, one of the elements that contributes most to stress is the practical handling of the test.

The introduction of technology has shown that it can ‘relieve’ this tension: the shift from traditional paper-based tests to the use of tablets offers a sense of security for competitors, allowing them to face the exam with greater peace of mind and confidence in their abilities.

Not only that, but this has also brought a speed of proceedings that is not comparable to the past, both in terms of corrections and in terms of daily competition sessions.

How public competitions work with tablets

In the past, public competitions were conducted exclusively on paper. However, with the advent of digital technologies, the competition landscape has undergone a significant transformation. The solutions offered, such as those provided by Recrytera, have made it possible to adopt a more efficient and modern approach.

Within the competition venues, participants receive personal tablets, through which they access the designated platform to take the tests. This approach not only speeds up the process of taking and correcting the tests, but also ensures greater transparency and security in the selection process.

Advantages of tablet competitions

But what are the real benefits of competing using the tablet? Let us look at some of them.

Efficiency and speed: the time required to run and correct tests is significantly reduced, allowing for faster and smoother management of the competition process.

Environmental sustainability: the elimination of paper reduces environmental impact, reflecting a commitment to more sustainable practices.

Transparency and security: using technology, greater transparency in the selection process is ensured, reducing the possibility of challenges or disputes.

Centralized management: the adoption of digital solutions enables a more centralized and coordinated management of the competition process, ensuring uniformity and consistency in procedures.

What is proctoring and what it signifies for candidates

While digital technology offers many advantages in the context of public competitions, it is essential to carefully consider the practical aspects and implications associated with the use of online proctoring. Online proctoring, or online monitoring, is a way of remotely monitoring participants during the conduct of competitive examinations, conducted by a proctor who verifies the candidate’s identity and monitors activities during the test.

The introduction of online proctoring, made necessary in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, has not failed to raise some critical issues that require careful evaluation.

These undoubtedly include the presence of limitations in the ability to detect and prevent fraudulent behavior on the part of candidates, intrusions into the privacy of participants through active microphones and webcams, and complex issues regarding the accessibility of public competitions, an issue to which increasing attention needs to be paid as required by the social context in which we live.

digital revolution in public recruitment

Digital Revolution in Public Recruitment: the success case of Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli with Recrytera

Posted on | by Luciano Torrente

In the heart of the digital era, the Italian public administration is embracing innovation to face an epic challenge: renewing its workforce by drawing on new generations.

The first step in this new direction was taken with the launch of a considerable number of public competitions held in totally digital form. An innovation which has made it possible, in 2021, to hire 45,000 young people in the PA, with permanent contracts, and to foresee for the following years a number equal to 300,000 recruitments.

At the center of this transformation process there is Recrytera, whose technological and methodological support is redefining the methods of personnel selection in the PA. Let’s discover together how Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli has experienced this change, achieving incredible results.

Recrytera leads PA towards digitization

Starting in early 2021, Recrytera is leading the way in the digitization of PAs, managing public competitions in a totally innovative way, using ten thousand tablets for the conduct of tests, a wristband equipped with a QR code for the identification of candidates, which has enabled the speeding up of the accreditation and recognition phase.

All this has allowed 1.5 million candidates to be examined and a reduction in the percentage of appeals and disputes.

Not only that, but the technological approach has also made it possible to reduce the time of the selections, allowing them to be handled simultaneously, even remotely and in geographically distinct locations, and to conclude them in a much shorter time than with the paper-based method.

 

The experience of Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli
Aiming for the future by learning from the past

This is the choice made by Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli which, for the new competition scheduled for 2024, has chosen to rely once again on the clever technologies provided by Recrytera.

Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli is a non-economic public body with legal personality and wide regulatory, administrative, patrimonial, organizational, accounting and financial autonomy, politically dependent on the Ministry of Finance.

The first contact between the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli and Recrytera took place in 2021 when the Agency decided to call for a tender, making the suitability in the digital management of the entire tender process one of the requirements for its entrustment.

The entrusting included the eventual pre-selection phase, the provision of hardware and related support, and the coordination between the various decentralized locations intended for holding the competition. All this during a pandemic, one of the most complex periods in modern history.

The surprising results achieved by Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli

In the course of 2021, through the constant support of Recrytera, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli finalised a major recruitment procedure, totally digitally.

Recrytrera’s support enabled the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli to carry out the selection simultaneously in sixteen different locations throughout the country and to recruit more than 1,200 functionaries in 8 months, selected from 180,000 candidates, with a very low drop-out rate of around 5%.

Further achievements were the great reduction in the time taken to complete the entire procedure, between the publication of the competition notice and the publication of the final ranking of the winners, and a total elimination of the error rate compared to the classic paper-based procedure.

Recrytera cares about environmental protection

An issue that Recrytera has always focused on is environmental protection.

The use of tablets and, more generally, of all technological devices has made it possible to cut down on problems related to environmental pollution, and to the disproportionate use of paper.

All this has prompted Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli for the second time to draw up a new framework agreement that provides for the launch of new competition procedures aimed at the participation of thousands of candidates.

Said and done.

Between 2022 and 2023, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli published and announced new selections for more than 1,000 candidates, and in 2024 it published a new competition for 564 full-time and permanent positions, whose applications were collected in a totally digital form, for various professional figures: these are experts in various fields ranging from communication to more technical-professional sectors.

The success of Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli should serve as a wake-up call for all PAs that still rely on traditional recruitment methods. It is time to look beyond, to take an example from those who have dared to innovate, achieving surprising results.

Recrytera: PA’s partner in the digitization challenge

Recrytera acts as a strategic partner for PAs wishing to embark on this path of renewal, offering not only the technology but also the expertise and support needed to navigate the change.

We invite all public administrations to reflect on the potential of digitization in public competitions. It is an opportunity to take a qualitative step forward in human resources management, improving not only internal efficiency but also the service offered to citizens. The ADM case with Recrytera is not only a success story, but a model to follow, an example of how technology can be put at the service of a more modern PA, accessible and close to everyone’s needs.

Contacting Recrytera will allow you to find out how you can turn your organization into a benchmark for public sector innovation, creating selection processes that are at the same time effective, fair and sustainable.

The future of public administration starts today, and it is digital. Are you ready to be part of it?