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Recruitment >> CRE - Purpose of the Examination

Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) and Basic Law Test (Degree / Professional Grades) (BLT)  

The coming "CRE and BLT"

The "CRE and BLT" was held on 4 October 2008 in Hong Kong.  The examination will also be held on 29 November 2008 in seven other cities, i.e. Beijing, London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney.  The application for both examination dates was closed at 5:00 p.m. on 15 August 2008 (Hong Kong Time).

Invitation letters will be sent to candidates taking the examination in non-local centres by 19 November 2008.  Applicants should contact the Civil Service Examinations Unit by phone at (852) 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk immediately if they do not receive the invitation letter by 24 November 2008. 

Applicants should read "Guidance Notes for Candidates of 'Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test' ('CRE and BLT') and / or Joint Administrative Officer / Executive Officer / Labour Officer / Trade Officer Recruitment Examination (JRE) to be held on 29 November 2008" before coming to the examination. 

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 for the BLT and the full mark of the paper is 100. 

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.

[*]   

Grades offering different entry pay points according to academic qualifications ( PDF Format )                                     

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.

Note:  

'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.
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 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.   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.     

Candidates will be notified of their CRE and / or BLT results by post about one month after the examination.

[*]  Examination Format  
[*] Sample Questions : Use of English
   

Use of Chinese
    Aptitude Test
    Basic Law Test (Degree / Professional Grades)

Enquiries

Persons who have applied to take the coming "CRE and BLT" are advised to refer to the "Notes for Applicants" 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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Last Revision Date : 12 November 2008