Lee Hon-wah, Staff Officer (Training Development).

The Customs and Excise Department is recruiting a new batch of inspectors and officers to fill existing vacancies, in its latest round of recruitment drive. For 2009-10, the Department intends to recruit 35 Inspectors of Customs and Excise and 80 Customs Officers to fill vacancies arising from natural attrition through retirement and resignation.

Candidates applying for the inspector's grade positions are required to hold a university degree. The positions carry a starting salary of HK$30,280 per month. Those with lower qualifications may also apply but their entry-level salary is HK$28,705 or HK$27,155 per month.

Applicants for the officer grade require Level 2 or Grade E or above in five subjects in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) or equivalent standing. The starting pay is HK$14,685 per month. Those with only three passes may also apply, but they are entitled to receive a lower starting salary of HK$14,275 per month.

Academic qualifications apart, applicants for both the inspector and officer grades are required to take part in a selection process, an eyesight test, a color perception test and to be able to speak the Cantonese dialect and English.

Stringent selection process

The Department advertised for the vacant posts last week. The closing date for applications is April 27. Interested persons may visit the websites of the Customs and Excise Department (www.customs.gov.hk) and the Civil Service Bureau (www.csb.gov.hk) to download the application form and obtain further information.

The recruitment processes will be quite lengthy and take several months. Successful candidates for the officer grade will be required to undergo an induction training course by the end of this year. Candidates selected for employment as inspectors will join the department and attend an induction training course during the first quarter of 2010.

As pointed out by Lee Hon-wah, Staff Officer (Training Development) of the Customs and Excise Department, the scale of the current recruitment exercise is not large because the process is meant only to fill vacancies arising through natural attrition. As for 2008, the staff turnover rates for inspector grade and officer grade were low at 1.68 percent and 2.71 percent respectively.

The last time the Department recruited Inspectors of Customs and Excise was 2007 - when an overwhelming 9,100 people applied. Only 41 were selected for employment, he disclosed. The last time Customs Officers were recruited was in 2006. At that time, as many as 8,900 people applied for positions but only 523 were selected.

"The reason for our large-scale recruitment drive last time was to tie in with completion of several major new developments, including the Shenzhen Western Corridor, a new cross-boundary control point," he said. "This time, as the financial tsunami is still rampant, I guess the number of applicants will be far more than the last time."

Although matriculation is the minimum academic requirement for the inspector grade, the latest batch of inspectors are all university graduates. For the officer grade, 30 percent of the new recruits have a university degree although the minimum requirement is only three passes in HKCEE, he revealed.

More applicants

Lee went on to say that the selection process is very difficult as a large number of applicants are phased out at different stages of the process. Taking the previous recruitment exercise for customs officers as an example, only 3,400 or 38.2 percent of the 8,900 applicants passed the initial aptitude test to proceed to the second stage. Of the remaining applicants, only 1,900 survived the physical fitness test and were selected for face-to-face interviews. In the end, only 523 candidates were employed as Customs Officers.

For the recruitment exercise for Inspector of Customs and Excise, a mere 2,700 or 29.5 percent of the 9,100 applicants passed the written, language and aptitude tests last time, he disclosed. Of the remaining candidates, 1,390 or 51 percent passed the physical fitness test and were selected to attend a group discussion and leadership skills workshop.

Only 390 candidates proceeded to the part two written test, which aims to assess the Chinese and English proficiency of applicants. In the end, 92 candidates were short-listed for selection interviews, with 41 finally being offered employment.

The scope of the physical fitness test covers: standing long jump, threading, isometric strength testing and an 800 meter run. As to questions frequently asked at selection interviews, they include: why do they want to join the Customs and Excise Department? Candidates also are questioned concerning their knowledge about the Department, as well as current news and public affairs.

Offering advice to applicants, Lee said the department is a disciplined service force that attaches utmost importance to good discipline. "Candidates shall observe strict punctuality and shall not be late for the interviews," he stressed. "Apart from being relaxed and not too nervous at the interviews, applicants are advised to visit our website in advance to know more about the work of our department because there were many applicants mixing our department with the Immigration Department."

Prepare well for the tests

In his opinion, the leadership skills test is the most difficult. The written test may be difficult but one can prepare well by reading books and studying current affairs in advance. Applicants should be prepared to train very hard in preparation for the strenuous physical fitness test.

"The objective of the leadership skills test is to assess the composure, problem-solving and decision-making skills of the candidates. But you can hardly prepare for it because there is not any scope at all," he said.

During the test, a candidate will play the role of supervisor and give instructions to subordinates to fulfill a task within 15 minutes. He remarked: "The task can be tricky but he can only give verbal instructions and not take part. Some candidates lost marks for losing their temper during the test."

Newly-appointed inspectors and officers will undergo 30-week and 20-week residential induction training courses respectively and will remain on probation for three years prior to consideration for permanent employment. As to the scope of the training course, it covers: law enforcement procedures, legal knowledge, physical fitness training, foot drills, firearms training and self-defence.

During the probation period, the new staff will be deployed to various positions to gain more experience through on-the-job training and job rotation. Upon completion of the probationary period, trainee inspectors are required to return to the training school to attend a continuation course.

Great variety of work

Customs and Excise Department officers face challenging work on a day to day basis. The work covers a broad range, including anti-smuggling, anti-narcotics, anti-piracy operations and guarding control points. Citing customs clearance work as an example, Lee said: "It is a very challenging task to strike a balance between customs clearance (to prevent entry of illegal materials) and facilitation of business, given the control points in Hong Kong are very busy ones, with a very huge number of passengers going in and out everyday."

He concluded: "The number of ordinances enforced by the Customs and Excise Department is second only to the Hong Kong Police Force, which is empowered to enforce all the laws of Hong Kong. We have a very great job variety. Even though I have worked here for more than 20 years, I have not encountered each and every job nature. And every time a staff is deployed to another unit, he is no more than a new comer."

(HK Edition 04/24/2009 page2)