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LITHUANIA |
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LITHUANIA |
RELATION WITH THE PROFESSION
The 1995 Law on Public Officials was the first attempt to regulate civil service in Lithuania. This law did not cover all areas of the civil service, however, and in 1999 the Law on Civil Service was adopted, setting the main principles of civil service, status of civil servants and the legal basis for civil service management. In addition, the law establishes the rules for recruiting civil servants and the rights, duties and responsibilities of civil servants. The law divides the civil service into two groups: public administration employees (including statutory civil servants) and service employees. All civil service positions are allotted to one of four levels (A, B, C, and D) that require different levels of education from master's degrees (level A) to some secondary education (level D). All positions are further divided into thirty separate categories, of which the first is the lowest level (D), and the thirtieth is the highest (A) These categories are defined on the basis of a document entitled “Methods of Describing and Evaluating Positions.” Candidates for employment in the civil service must (a) be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, (b) demonstrate proficiency in the state language (Lithuanian), (c) be more than 18 years old, and (d) hold the qualification necessary for the particular level. Civil servants are employed on the basis of an open selection process, examinations and an evaluation of skills and other professional characteristics necessary for the particular position and the civil service in general. The law also established a requirement for candidates seeking lower level public administration positions, which is the completion of an introductory education programme for civil servants. Candidates seeking a higher category position have to complete the programme of the Lithuanian Institute of Public Administration (or another with the same status).
According to the law, civil servants have the right and duty to raise their qualification level according to the requirements of their position. The law also calls for training strategies to be developed in state institutions and municipalities, including introductory training, continuous (obligatory) raising of qualifications and training for senior civil servants. The Lithuanian Institute of Public Administration determines the content, prepares and controls the programmes for all three types of training.
There are currently twenty thousand civil servants in public administration in Lithuania, half of whom work in the central government and county administration. As discussed earlier, the development of academic PA programmes in Lithuania has only recently begun, and few officials have a PA degree. The majority of KTU and VU students had worked in various governmental institutions prior to enrolling, and they frequently continue with their careers. The majority of KTU’s 1998 graduates (sixty percent) work in institutions of local government and regional (county) administration; only five percent work in central government institutions. It is predicted that the majority of graduates from VU’s master's programme in public administration will be employed in agencies involved with the central government as VU is located in the capital. Other institutions of higher education offering PA programmes expect that their graduates will be employed in government institutions. Enrollment predications for the next few years indicate that the schools outlined in this report will enroll approximately fifty students per year with the exception of LTA, which will enroll one hundred students at the undergraduate and graduate level. This is as a result of an order from the Ministry of Management Reforms and Local Government Affairs in consideration of the need for public administration specialists in the country.
Higher education institutions attempt to influence civil service recruitment policies by analysing the current status of training and employment and providing corresponding recommendations to the institutions implementing these policies. The Ministry of Management Reforms and Local Government Affairs is responsible for the development strategy for the public administration system and training officials. Therefore, all institutions offering PA programs cooperate closely with this ministry. Representatives of these institutions of higher education took part in committee work to prepare the Law on Civil Service. The ministry also mandates academic instituions to conduct research on the public administration system. Some research is ordered by local governments, but these projects are sporadic and do not always correspond with the long-term research plans.
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