Porto Municipality turns to digital recruitment

It is the first in Portugal to implement such platform and process

On 1 April, Porto official website informed that the municipal administration has started conducting its recruitment procedures virtually with the introduction of a new specialized system for the purpose. This makes it the first municipality in Portugal to turn to technology in that regard.

This past week, the first knowledge tests were conducted online for positions of senior technicians and technical assistants.

Efficiency in every aspect of the process

The application of remote methods in recruitment is bound to avoid any unnecessary delays and crowding of candidates for the required exams, assured the authorities. It is safe to assume that this progress was sped along by the ongoing restrictions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, however, its foundations were already laid before that when in January 2020, the city council launched the Recruitment and Selection Platform with a view to revolutionizing this administrative activity.

Recruitment is a fairly complex procedure that needs to be done carefully. Porto reports that advertised positions can often attract as many as 2000 candidates, which certainly creates some logistical problems and call for good organization.

The earlier mentioned knowledge exams, which test the competencies of the candidates, were carried out through the platform. That tool had been developed by the University of Minho for the placement of academic exams.

The way it works is that on a particular date and time all candidates are allowed access to the test. The environment of the remote tests is nonetheless controlled through surveillance by technicians of the Municipal Human Resources Department, making sure that the conditions are identical for all participants and that no cheating is involved.

Before sitting the exam, candidates had been given a demonstration of the platform and how to use it. Reportedly, psychological assessments will also be carried out digitally through the application of aptitude tests, personality inventories and interviews on Microsoft Teams.