UN EMPLOYMENT: NATIONAL COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENT

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000551

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - PARA 2 TOTAL CHANGED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC
SUBJECT: UN EMPLOYMENT: NATIONAL COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENT
EXAMINATIONS FOR 2006



1. SUMMARY. On February 28, 2006, the UN held its annual
National Competitive Recruitment Examination (NCRE) for entry
level junior professional positions for the following
occupational groups: architecture, demography, library
science, security, science and technology, statistics and web
design. Approximately 1176 individuals, including 196 U.S.
citizens, were invited to sit for the examination, which was
held in 33 locations worldwide. New York and Los Angeles
were the two U.S. locations. The Los Angeles test was marred
by inadequate facilities. END SUMMARY.


2. On February 28, 2006, the UN held its annual NCRE in 33
worldwide locations. This year the following occupational
groups were tested:

U.S.
Occupational Group Total Citizens
Group Convoked Convoked
-------------- -------------- --------------
Architecture 250 21
Demography 112 23
Library Science 92 30
Security 25 11
Science and Technology 371 55
Statistics 273 36
Web Design 53 20

Total 1176 196


3. U.S. Citizen participation: U.S. citizens were convoked to
the following test centers:

Examination Total U.S. Citizens
Centers Convoked Present
-------------- -------------- --------------
Barbados 3 TBD
Bangkok 3 TBD
Geneva 4 TBD
Los Angeles 23 15
London 5 TBD
Oslo 1 TBD
New York 153 94
Vienna 1 TBD

TBD: Awaiting tabulation.

Gender percentage for those convoked: approximately (38% male
and 62% female).

LOS ANGELES TEST SITE ISSUES


4. As it did for the 2005 exam, the Department this year
provided $4000 for UNA-USA to make logistical arrangements
for test sites outside of New York. After first selecting
Dallas and Los Angeles, it was later determined that only one
site, Los Angeles, was needed. The site selected by UNA-USA
in December 2005 was a classroom at Los Angeles Harbor
College, located in Wilmington, California. Although
concerns about construction noise surfaced early, the UN's
test director thought these would be addressed without help
from the U.S. Mission. On February 27, 2006, test proctors
from the UN and the U.S. Mission arrived at the site and
found substandard conditions, including inadequate seating,
foul smells in the adjacent hallway, poor ventilation, and
excessive noise from outside construction and traffic.
Although the proctors made last minute efforts to make the
space more suitable, the UN's representative still believed
that the site was inappropriate. Several test takers
complained about the site to the UN and U.S. Mission
representatives.


5. The College's representative who volunteered the
classroom admitted that it was inadequate but said that an
earlier choice was even worse. Efforts to find a room in the
Long Beach school system fell through the cracks.

NEXT EXAM


6. The UN Examinations office has informally advised the
U.S. Mission that it will be making a formal invitation to
the U.S.G. to participate in the 2007 NCRE, which will test
the following occupational groups: Economics, Legal Affairs,
Library, Radio Producers (Arabic and Spanish) Security and
Statistics. This office emphasizes that unless the US
Mission requests otherwise, the only scheduled USA
examination center will be in New York.


7. Comments: Taking into account our 2005 and 2006 UN NCRE
experiences and the occupational groups forecasted for the
2007 examination, USUN projects that no more than 55 total
examines (maybe 30 U.S.C.s) might actually sit for an
examination outside of New York City, somewhere on the West

Coast.
BOLTON