Employment Information

Types of Competitions

Open competitions have the broadest area of search and are used when it is in the public interest to seek applications from the public and when the required skills are not readily available from within the civil service. The area of search for an open competition may be local, regional, provincial or national.

Closed competitions are restricted to regular, term and departmental employees. They are used when experience in government is considered essential to effective performance in the position or when the position provides a career opportunity for current employees. A closed competition may effectively use current employees when advertising to the public would provide no significant advantage.

Internal competitions have an area of search limited to employees from a specific department or work unit. It is used when the required skills can only be gained from specific experience in government. Internal competitions may also be used where a staff year is unavailable and outcome of the competition is to reclassify or second the successful candidate.