Are you considering a career in the civil service, but don't know where to start? Does the career structure seem complicated to you, and are you wondering what the hiring criteria are? Do you need to be a Luxembourg citizen to join the civil service? Do you have to be fluent in the country's three administrative languages?
Let's start at the beginning: the different possibilities for joining the civil service in Luxembourg
There are three statuses under which civil servants can work: civil servant (“fonctionnaire”), state employee (“employé de l’État”) and salaried civil employee (“salarié de l’État”).
One of the fundamental differences between civil servants, on the one hand, and employees and salaried staff, on the other, is the recruitment procedure.
Whereas civil servants are recruited by means of a competitive examination (“examen-concours”), employees and salaried staff are hired by means of a normal employment contract.
The latter can thus apply directly for open positions for employees or salaried staff on GovJobs.lu, while those wishing to become civil servants will first have to pass the general aptitude test (“épreuve d’aptitude générale”) before being able to apply.
Career structure: a breakdown by level of education
For each status, there are several careers, access to which is determined by the type of schooling and diploma level.
Civil servant and employee statuses are subdivided into groups ranging from A1 to D3. Civil servant groups are referred to as "groupes de traitement", while employees are referred to as "groupes d’indemnité”.
A "group" corresponds either to the last diploma obtained, or to the number of school years successfully completed. For example, to qualify for group A1, you'll need a Master's degree, while for group A2, you'll need a BAC+3 diploma. The group in which you are classified defines your starting salary and will have an impact on your career path within the public service.
What languages do I need to master? And do I need to be a Luxembourg citizen to work for the government?
Anyone wishing to join the civil service must, in principle, master the country's three administrative languages, i.e. Luxembourgish, French and German.
However, different levels of proficiency are required for different languages, depending on the requirements of the job in question. For example, for higher-level careers (groups A1 and A2), applicants must achieve level C1 for their first language, level B2 for their second language and level B1 for their third language. Level B1, which is an average but not perfect level, is therefore sometimes sufficient! Requirements also vary for middle and lower-level careers.
However, every rule has its exceptions. Within the Luxembourg government, certain positions require an absolutely perfect command of all three languages, including written. For the most part, these are jobs where the agent is in contact with citizens.
There are also exceptions in the other direction: derogations can be granted to highly specialised agents for one or two of the three administrative languages. Their unique skills justify this exceptional measure. There are other conditions for being granted an exemption for one or the other language, notably if you have completed at least seven years of your schooling in Luxembourg.
As far as nationality is concerned, it is no longer necessary to be a Luxembourger to gain access to most positions in the civil service. The majority of jobs are open to all EU nationals, with the exception of certain sectors defined by the Grand Ducal regulation of 12 May 2010, such as the judiciary, the police and the army, i.e. positions involving the exercise of public authority.
Interested in the civil service? Just one address: GovJobs.lu
GovJobs.lu offers you all the information you need on careers and recruitment in the civil service. You can consult all the vacancies in the various ministries and administrations, register for the entry examination for civil servants, and subscribe to the newsletters to be notified of new vacancies in your field on GovJobs website.
And with GovJobs videos, you can get a first glimpse of the diversity and profiles within the public service in Luxembourg!
