THE Civil Service is to recruit 500 new staff as the public sector organisation continues to grapple with several thousand vacancies.
THE Department for the Economy's top civil servant Mike Brennan told the Assembly's economy committee in February that around 4,500 positions out of 23,000 were vacant across the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
The shortage was linked to recruitment challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The permanent secretary said the health of his officials was suffering, in part due to a 25 per cent vacancy rate within the department.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy confirmed on Tuesday that an external recruitment campaign would seek to immediately fill approximately 500 positions at executive officer (EO) grades based in Civil Service departments at a number of locations.
The Department of Finance said the majority of current vacancies are in the greater Belfast and north west areas.
Mr Murphy said the process would also create a waiting list of candidates to fill further vacancies that may arise during the life of the campaign.
The first stage of the recruitment campaign for grade two EO posts opened on Monday (May 10) with applications for grade one EO posts opening on Monday May 17.
EO2 attracts a salary of £25,229 to £26,051, with the salary scale for EO1 ranging from £27,845 to £28,730.
“The Civil Service delivers a range of services to people and families,” said Mr Murphy.
“With posts available across a number of Departments this is an excellent opportunity for people who want to make a real contribution to society.
“The Civil Service should reflect the society it serves. I welcome applications from talented and motivated people regardless of their age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, community background, disability or ethnicity.”
