BRUSSELS — The EU is relaunching its elite recruitment competition after a seven-year break in an effort to find a new generation of high-level administrators to help manage the world’s second largest economy.

The European Commission, which last held the competition in 2019, organizes the assessment to inject new blood into Brussels’ corridors of power. A big wage and job security await those who pass the test.

“It’s a contract for life,” said András Baneth, managing partner of EU Training, which prepares applicants for the process, and author of a book on how to pass. “This is a great opportunity for predictable career advancement and, of course, a salary and everything that goes with it.”

Successful applicants are eligible for roles at grade “AD-5,” which come with a monthly pay packet of between €5,973 and €6,758, as well as the chance to progress through the bureaucracy and take up influential roles in commissioners’ Cabinets — the elite teams of advisers weighing in on key policy areas.

The graduate scheme, aimed at generalists, will open on Thursday, according to the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), and close on March 10. It is the first time since 2019 that the contest has been held. The process includes psychometric testing, an EU knowledge assessment and an essay submission for those who pass the initial stages.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made it a priority to give younger, harder-working staff a chance to climb the ladder in an institution that has historically had a stiff hierarchy, Commission officials said.

“It’s very important to bring a younger talent pool with a different way of thinking in,” said a senior official, granted anonymity to speak frankly. “You’ll have a lot of certain levels retiring and you need to make sure the next generation of public servants is coming through. Of course we need people who understand the institution, but we also need people who understand the technologies of the future from a different perspective.”

According to a spokesperson for the Commission, the “extended pause” over the past seven years was due to a move to full online testing. The scrapping of an assessment center stage means “the overall duration of the competitions of EPSO has been shortened.”

Set for life

“After entering the workforce four years ago, this is finally my first chance to enter the [EU] institutions, which until now has seemed impossible,” said one prospective applicant, granted anonymity to avoid harming their application. “Everyone knows that once you pass the [competition], and get a job, you’re set for life. Which is why literally all of my friends will take this opportunity.”

Many younger staff in the 33,000-strong Commission workforce currently serve in relatively insecure roles on short-term contracts or as agency employees, meaning they have fewer benefits, worse take-home pay and far less certainty over their future. The executive has launched a review of its structure, designed to improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, with concerns that those who do not have official status could be negatively affected by a restructure.

A second prospective applicant, working in the private sector, hit out at the irregularity of the process. “I really hope it will be different this time to give external people a chance, since at the moment the system favors candidates already working at the institutions,” they said.

Baneth, the test expert, said that about 1,200 applicants will be directly offered jobs from an applicant pool that could exceed 50,000. Others will be added to a reserve list from which “only 30 percent will actually be offered a job … this leads to a lot of negative feelings when someone goes through all this and still they cannot be sure they get a job.”