How to get a federal government job in Ethiopia: who can apply and the competency test

Who can apply

Article 24 sets out who is eligible. These are the points that matter for most people.

• You're 18 or over and under 60
• You hold a certificate of competence, or a renewed one
• You're willing to take the oath of fidelity in Article 31
• You bring a medical certificate of fitness. The law says this excludes an HIV/AIDS test
• You bring written proof that you've no police record for the crimes the article names: corruption, breach of trust, theft, fraud or rape

A past conviction for those crimes doesn't bar you for life. Article 24 lets you apply once five years have passed since the penalty was served and a court has reinstated you. If you were dismissed from a government office for a disciplinary offence, you can be recruited after five years if your behaviour has improved.

Foreign nationals aren't eligible, under Article 25. The article keeps the rights that Proclamation 270/2002 gives to foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin.

The competency test and certificate

This is the big change. Article 27 says anyone joining a government office must pass a technical and behavioural competency test run by the Ethiopian Competency and Management Institute. Someone without the certificate can't be employed in a government office.

A new graduate goes through pre-employment training first (Article 26). A directive from the Commission sets the type and length of the training, and you have to pass the training institute's exit test before you can be employed. A trainee who passes the assessment can be hired into a vacant post within 3 years of the certificate date (Article 27). Certificates from regional and city assessment services count too, under the same article.

The law leaves the details to a directive from the Commission. We couldn't find that directive, so we don't give test dates, fees or pass marks. Ask the Commission, or read the vacancy notice.

How a post is filled

• Each office reports its vacant posts to the Institute (Article 28)
• The Institute advertises them through accessible public media, for existing staff and new entrants to register (Article 28)
• The Institute checks that applicants hold the required qualification and the certificate (Article 28)
• The post goes to the person who meets the requirements and scores higher than the others (Article 29)
• Nobody may be favoured or rejected for ethnicity, gender, religion, political opinion, disability or HIV/AIDS status (Article 29)

Women are entitled to affirmative action in recruitment, promotion and training (Article 72). Check the notice to see how an office applies it.

Where to look for posts

On 5 November 2026, the Federal Civil Service Commission's vacancies page showed 0 vacancies. Its heading speaks of opportunities at the Commission, and it can filter permanent, contract, internal and external posts. The Addis Ababa bureau's portal showed no active announcements the same day. An empty page doesn't mean no office is hiring, so check again and look at the page of the office you want.

The Commission's site gives its phone as +251 115 549 704 and its email as [email protected].

• Federal Civil Service Commission vacancies
• Addis Ababa bureau vacancies
• Official job portals in Ethiopia, checked

Your first months in the job

You start on the base salary fixed by the civil service scale for your post (Article 32). You get a probationary letter with your post, level, salary and start date (Article 33).

Probation lasts six months. If your result is below average, it can be extended by three months. If your result still isn't average or higher, your service ends (Article 33). While on probation, you have the same rights and duties as other civil servants unless the law says otherwise.

• Civil servants salary scale: what Directive 1110 says
• Federal civil servants' leave and working hours
• Free application tracker

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