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Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) and Basic Law Test (Degree / Professional Grades) (BLT)
The Coming "CRE and BLT" on 24 May 2008
The coming CRE will be held on 24 May 2008 in Hong Kong. Applicants for the coming CRE will automatically be arranged to take the BLT on the same date. The application for the "CRE and BLT" was closed on 4 April 2008.
The Civil Service Examinations Unit has sent an acknowledgement / confirmation e-mail with a serial number to the applicant's correspondence address / e-mail address before 16 April 2008. An invitation letter was sent to the applicants eligible to take the "CRE and BLT" by post on 13 May 2008. Applicants should contact the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk if they do not receive the invitation letter for the "CRE and BLT" by 19 May 2008.
Applicants should read the "Guidance Notes for Candidates of Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test to be held in Hong Kong on 24 May 2008 " before coming to the examination. 
The Coming "BLT" on 26 July 2008
The coming BLT will be held on 26 July 2008 in Hong Kong. The application for the examination was closed at 5:00pm on 16 May 2008 (Hong Kong time).
The Civil Service Examinations Unit will send an acknowledgement / confirmation e-mail with a serial number to the applicant's correspondence address / e-mail address before 28 May 2008. An invitation letter will be sent to the applicants eligible to take the "BLT" by post by 15 July 2008. Applicants should contact the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk if they do not receive: (i) the acknowledgement / confirmation e-mail by 2 June 2008; or (ii) the invitation letter for the "BLT" by 21 July 2008.
What is CRE
The CRE consists of three 45-minute papers, namely Use of English (UE), Use of Chinese (UC) and Aptitude Test (AT), in multiple-choice format. The UE and UC papers assess proficiency in English and Chinese languages respectively whereas the AT paper assesses reasoning abilities. Candidates’ results in the UE and UC papers are classified as 'Level 2', 'Level 1' or 'Fail', with 'Level 2' being the highest. Results in the AT paper are classified as 'Pass' or 'Fail'. 'Level 2' and 'Level 1' results of the two language papers and the 'Pass' result of the AT paper are of permanent validity.
Grade 'C' or above in Use of English of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) or English Language of the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) (GCE A Level) is accepted by the recruiting grades / departments as equivalent to 'Level 2' in the UE paper of the CRE. Grade 'C' or above in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the HKALE is accepted by the recruiting grades / departments as equivalent to 'Level 2' in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) will not be arranged to take the UE and / or UC paper(s).
Grade 'D' in Use of English of the HKALE or English Language of the GCE A Level is accepted by the recruiting grades / departments as equivalent to 'Level 1' in the UE paper of the CRE. Grade 'D' in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the HKALE is accepted by the recruiting grades / departments as equivalent to 'Level 1' in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) may wish to take this into account in deciding whether they need to take the UE and / or UC paper(s) having regard to the requirements of the civil service post(s) in which they are interested.
An overall band of 6.5 or above with no subtest score below band 6 obtained in the same sitting in the Academic Module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) within the 2-year validity period of the test are accepted as equivalent to 'Level 2' result in the UE paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above results may wish to take this into account in deciding whether they need to take the UE paper.
What is BLT
The BLT is a 20-minute bilingual paper comprising 15 multiple-choice questions. The paper assesses candidates' Basic Law (BL) knowledge. There is no passing mark set for the BLT and the full mark of the paper is 100. The result of the BLT is of permanent validity. Candidates may choose to take the BLT again when applications for the next round of BLT are called.
CRE, BLT and Civil Service Recruitment
CRE
As a general requirement in language proficiency, applicants for civil service posts at degree or professional level are required to obtain either 'Level 2' or 'Level 1' results in the UE and UC papers in the CRE as stipulated by individual recruiting grades / departments in the relevant recruitment advertisements. Applicants with 'Level 2' results in the UE and UC papers are considered as meeting the general language proficiency requirements of all degree or professional grades. Applicants for some of these posts are also required to obtain a 'Pass' result in the AT paper in addition to the requisite results in the UE and UC papers.Note
Some civil service grades (e.g. disciplined services grades) offer different entry pay points to recruits according to their academic qualifications. Degree holders without the requisite CRE results may still apply for these posts but will not be eligible for the degree pay point.
Persons who wish to apply for civil service posts at degree or professional level should first obtain the requisite CRE results unless otherwise specified in the relevant job advertisements. Applicants may choose to attempt all, any one, or any combination of the papers. Applicants are advised to ascertain the requirements of the civil service post(s) in which they are interested and other examination results accepted as equivalent to CRE results before deciding on which papers they should attempt. Any change to the choice of papers is not allowed after the submission of an application.
The CRE is held independent of the recruitment process for any civil service post. Persons who wish to apply for civil service vacancies should apply to the recruiting grades / departments direct. The acquisition of the requisite CRE results does not imply that a candidate has fully met the entry requirements of any civil service post at degree or professional level. Vetting of academic and / or professional qualifications will be carried out by the recruiting grades / departments which may also conduct separate examinations / interviews in addition to the CRE.
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Note:
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'Pass' results obtained in CREs held in June 2006 or earlier are valid for three years from the month that the examination results were released to the candidates. Holders of valid 'Pass' results in the UE and UC papers obtained in these CREs are regarded as meeting the general language proficiency requirements of all degree or professional grades for the remaining validity period.
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BLT
For the purpose of heightening public awareness of BL and promoting a culture of learning of BL in the community, all candidates applying for civil service jobs to be advertised from 1 September 2008 onwards will be assessed on their BL knowledge. BL test result will not affect a candidate's eligibility for applying for a civil service job. It will be one of the considerations to assess the suitability of a candidate. As a general principle, the main consideration for suitability for appointment remains a candidate's qualifications, experience and calibre.
Candidates will be notified of their examination / test results by post about one month after the examination / test.
Enquiries
Persons who have applied to take the coming "CRE and BLT" or "BLT" are advised to refer to the "Notes for Applicants" for "CRE and BLT" on 24 May 2008 or "BLT" on 26 July 2008 and the "Frequently Asked Questions" for more details. Enquiries may be directed to the Civil Service Examinations Unit at Tel : 2537 6429, by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk, or by post to Room 707, 7/F, Main Wing, Central Government Offices, Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong.
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