The civil service schools: A distinctive recruitment and training system

France has an elaborated network of civil service schools, of which some date back to the mid-XVIII^th century. These schools are higher education institutions separate from public universities. Each of them is run under the supervision of the Minister whose competence is the most relevant; the ENA is supervised by the Prime Minister (but managed by the Ministry of civil service). 

Their main characteristic is that they provide initial training to future civil servants, meaning that they train students before and so that they are given a post in the civil service. As a rule, students are civil servants in training and consequently receive payment, in exchange for an agreement to serve in public administration for a number of years (usually ten). It is important to note that in some of these schools, there may also be regular students, who are not planning to become civil servants, and are not paid.

These schools are generally focused on a single more or less broad topic, have a moderate size, and are highly selective. Training mainly consists in practical knowledge, professional skills and work methods necessary in the future work environment.

Entry to these schools is granted through competitive examinations, open to candidates fulfilling objective criteria (age, level of education). Students come from high schools and university, or may already have a work experience. At the end of their studies, students are ranked according to their academic merit. In order of decreasing merit, they are asked to choose the service they wish to join, after a list indicating openings: the best ranked graduate having the widest choice, the last one having none.

Some of these schools also organize continued training programmes or sessions for civil servants in activity.

A critical principle of these civil service training schools is to allow anyone, on the unique basis of one's merit, to receive training and an opportunity to join the civil service.

Except for the IRAs , all those listed below are called grande école, name which used to be reserved for civil service training schools (graduate and post-graduate) and could be (poorly) translated as great school. The list of civil service schools presented here is not complete, there are also the National Schools of Taxes, Treasury, Customs, Public Hospital Managers, the High School of Police, primary school teacher training institutes, etc.

1 - The grandes écoles

Although open to anyone meeting academic and age criteria, access to the grandes écoles is still conditiond by at least 2 years preparation of these exams in specific post-high school classes.  Access to these classes is extremely difficult. 

However, it appears that the students' social origin in most of these schools, giving ways to higher civil service (especially those qualified as grandes écoles, such as ENA and Ecole Polytechnique ), does not reflect the distribution of the French population by social classes. The proportion of students with a background in upper-class or upper-middle class has largely increased, whereas the number of students of working-class origins has steadily declined.

2 - General administration schools

2.1 National School of Administration (Ecole nationale d’administration, ENA)

The ENA was created in 1945 by the interim Liberation government headed by Charles de Gaulle, in order to rationalize and democratize the recruitment of personnel for the grand corps and higher civil service. ENA organizes three kinds of competitive entry examination every year: external exam, open to holders of a university degree or equivalent (many are first graduated from the Institute of Political Studies); internal exam for civil servants in activity wishing to get promoted; and a third competitive exam for people with work experience or holding elective functions. Selectivity is high: only 15% of the candidates sitting at the entry exam were accepted in 2004. Each promotion consists of about 100 students.

The 27-months training includes a 12-month internship period, within a ministry and prefecture. While the first ranked graduates join the prestigious grand corps of State, like the Council of State, the Cour des comptes or the IGF, many end up in middle-level administration positions.

ENA also welcomes overseas students, in either thematic short-term programmes, or in a 18-month programme, alongside their French counterparts. So far, 2154 public servants from all parts of the world have studied at ENA. Increasingly, the School is involved in programmes of international cooperation, and has assisted in the establishment of similar schools in many countries around the world.

2.2 Regional institutes of administration (instituts régionaux d'administration, IRA)

There are 5 regional institutes of administrations, whose is to train university graduates into mission generalist civil servants for cadre positions within ministries, prefecture or établissements publics, especially administrative attaché (Category A). There is also a specialist training for computing analysts delivered by the IRA of Lille. Each institute has promotions of about 130 students, selected through external, internal or third competitive exams. Training lasts one year, including internships.

3 - Teaching and research schools

3.1 Higher teacher training schools (Écoles Normales Supérieures, ENS)

Created in 1794, their original vocation was to train high school teachers. But they have become an elite institution training researchers and university professors.

There are four ENS¹, each one covering various disciplines (humanities, languages, engineering). Their competitive entrance exams are extremely selective. Open in theory to holders of a baccalauréat (high-school final diploma), most students attended 2 to 3 years of "preparatory" classes prior to entry.

Each year, there are about 100 students enrolled in the humanities, and 100 in the sciences. Some may choose to carry on studying in an application school, such as the École des Mines.

3.2 National charts school (école nationale des chartes )

Created in 1821, the École Nationale des Chartes trains personnel in charge of patrimony conservation (libraries, archives, museums, monuments), as well as professors and researchers, notably in history and arts. Historical research is at the core of the School’s activities. Training lasts 3 years. Students are recruited through a competitive entry exam, mainly after high-school studies. Each promotion consists of about 20 students.

4 - Engineering schools

There is a broad spectrum of engineering schools. The most famous and prestigious are the École Polytechnique, the École des Mines and the École des Ponts et Chaussées (Bridges and Roads). There are also more specialised schools, in agronomy, forestry, rural civil works, or veterinary medicine.²

4.1 Polytechnics school (école polytechnique )

The École Polytechnique, aka "X", is the oldest engineering grande école in France. Created in 1794, the École Polytechnique used to be a military academy for officers and army engineers. However, the military aspects of the school have lessened with time. It is still run under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence, is headed by a general, and employs military personnel in executive, administrative and sports training positions. And all undergraduate engineering students of the school are reserve officers.

The admission requires at least two years of preparation after high school. Studies at Polytechnique cover a wide scope of scientific fields, while humanities and sports are mandatory. This generic feature of the curriculum is a characteristic of the School. The training curriculum lasts 4 years, with the last year focusing on more professional studies. This allows students to join an application school, such as the Ecole des Mines or Ponts et Chaussées.

Polytechnique students may embrace high-level administrative careers, within the technical great corps, such as the Mines corps. Some may choose to join a military corps. However, many graduates nowadays join academics or the private sector.

4. 2 Mining school (école des mines )

The École des Mines de Paris was created in 1783 on the request of King Louis XVI in order to train "intelligent mines directors". It is now a "generalist" school, with a broad variety of disciplines. There is a specialised unit, constituting an application school of Ecole Polytechnique, which offers a 3-year education programme for the future members of the Mines corps. This involves about 15 students each year.

Bridges and roads school (école des ponts et chaussées , ENPC)

The ENPC is the oldest engineering public school, created in 1747. It offers high-level curriculum in an extensive range of fields, from applied mathematics, civil engineering and urbanism to economics and management.

The School is also an application school of Ecole Polytechnique, providing education for the civil engineer corps of bridges and roads. It also trains civil servants for the Ministry of Infrastructure and other administrative structures.

Reference:

http://www.fonction-publique.gouv.fr/travailler/ecoles.htm

NOTES

1. In Rouban.

2. http://www.ens.fr , http://www.ens-cachan.fr , , http://www.ens-lsh.fr , http://www.ens-lyon.fr

http://www.inapg.fr/spip_en , http://www.engref.fr/ANGLAIS/Accueil.htm