Numerous HEO ICT PAS Roles

TestLink · 25-09-2020 9:09am

floorpie wrote: »

The posts on FB were similarly quiet.

Do you mean a Facebook group? Can you please share the link?

FenFlynn · 25-09-2020 9:20am

I'd say it'll be more active after shortlisting. I'm not confident to get through that for the one I applied. Will have to wait and see, hopefully I'm put out of my misery soon.

floorpie · 25-09-2020 4:52pm

TestLink wrote: »

Do you mean a Facebook group? Can you please share the link?

No sorry, I meant the ads that pop up on timelines (I think from the PublicJobs page), in which people tag each other saying "You should apply". For some campaigns (e.g. EO) you'll see hundreds of comments/shares, for this there were ~20 comments the day before deadline. I'm sure this is quite a rough estimate of interest

TestLink · 25-09-2020 5:08pm

floorpie wrote: »

No sorry, I meant the ads that pop up on timelines (I think from the PublicJobs page), in which people tag each other saying "You should apply". For some campaigns (e.g. EO) you'll see hundreds of comments/shares, for this there were ~20 comments the day before deadline. I'm sure this is quite a rough estimate of interest

Thanks...

beauf · 25-09-2020 6:17pm

floorpie wrote: »

I wonder is that a good sign or is everybody keeping schtum... The posts on FB were similarly quiet.

I do think that the requirements they list are a bit ridiculous. If you wholly fulfil them you would get you a FAR better salary elsewhere at the moment, moreso than the usual public/private discrepancy. Bit weird that 22 year old undergrads are getting a better package from non-FAANG bog standard companies, straight out of college, in Dublin, than senior ICT staff in CS. This may somewhat explain the quietness.

That being said, I also got a few applications in

Anyone with the experience and qualifications will want more money. Anyone with one and not the other night be ok with the money, but don't meet the minimum requirements. Same problem all over the PS. That's my thinking.

floorpie · 26-09-2020 1:52am

beauf wrote: »

Anyone with the experience and qualifications will want more money. Anyone with one and not the other night be ok with the money, but don't meet the minimum requirements. Same problem all over the PS. That's my thinking.

I see inconsistent payscales/requirements also, which is confusing as an applicant. E.g. NTA has a senior dev role up now, same requirements as HEO dev, but it's an engineer grade and is 70-90k. Perhaps there's an explanation for this but as an outsider I assumed there'd be more consistency in CS.

trigger26 · 26-09-2020 10:01am

beauf wrote: »

Anyone with the experience and qualifications will want more money. Anyone with one and not the other night be ok with the money, but don't meet the minimum requirements. Same problem all over the PS. That's my thinking.

The money is not always a factor, I was in private/contracting before joining as a HEO, outside of Dublin the wage is very good plus the security was huge for me starting out with a young family looking to get a mortgage. There are many opportunities to get to the next grade if you wish plus the support on training is something I'm still getting used to. When in private I used to get the fee for the exam and maybe a half day leave but all the rest was on your own time and expense.

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 26-09-2020 10:07am

HugoMyBoss wrote: »

This thread is surprisingly quite!

Money is terrible, for what’s described as “senior” roles.

doc22 · 26-09-2020 11:18pm

trigger26 wrote: »

The money is not always a factor, I was in private/contracting before joining as a HEO, outside of Dublin the wage is very good plus the security was huge for me starting out with a young family looking to get a mortgage. There are many opportunities to get to the next grade if you wish plus the support on training is something I'm still getting used to. When in private I used to get the fee for the exam and maybe a half day leave but all the rest was on your own time and expense.

There isn't that many AP or HEO IT roles outside Dublin to taking like that. Training wise in civil service in my experience you're left to yourself(no real training plan) and leave isn't much more then exam day, and no reward in terms of pay for achievements.

beauf · 26-09-2020 11:49pm

Probably varies enormously between teams and departments.

Even in the private sector it can be down to how people are managed locally.

I've seen it where a handful of people constantly get their training approved and others in the same section are constantly refused.

trigger26 · 27-09-2020 9:49am

doc22 wrote: »

There isn't that many AP or HEO IT roles outside Dublin to taking like that. Training wise in civil service in my experience you're left to yourself(no real training plan) and leave isn't much more then exam day, and no reward in terms of pay for achievements.

Never mentioned the opportunities were ICT related nor did I ever expect someone else to sort my training plan for me. I trained to help me get into a role I wanted, luck is a big factor too

doc22 · 27-09-2020 12:13pm

trigger26 wrote: »

Never mentioned the opportunities were ICT related nor did I ever expect someone else to sort my training plan for me. I trained to help me get into a role I wanted, luck is a big factor too

Outside Dublin there's a small number of AP positions.And it's all very good but most training requires a business case from PO for sign off(presumably in current role) . I've heard about the educational/training opportunities in civil service but you have to push for them and even at that they still mightn't be signed off. There's not some unlimited training budget, far from it. My experience is waiting years for basic internal courses.

AndrewJRenko · 27-09-2020 8:19pm

floorpie wrote: »

I see inconsistent payscales/requirements also, which is confusing as an applicant. E.g. NTA has a senior dev role up now, same requirements as HEO dev, but it's an engineer grade and is 70-90k. Perhaps there's an explanation for this but as an outsider I assumed there'd be more consistency in CS.

It might sound a bit picky, but the NTA isn't CS. It is public sector, not civil service - so they have their own grades and roles, as they operate in specialist areas. I didn't see the role you mention, so I can't comment on their particular grading.

doc22 wrote: »

There isn't that many AP or HEO IT roles outside Dublin to taking like that. Training wise in civil service in my experience you're left to yourself(no real training plan) and leave isn't much more then exam day, and no reward in terms of pay for achievements.

It's not unreasonable to expect any employee to own their own training plan. Your experience on training sounds very different to mine, with strong encouragement from management to gain extra qualifications (technical qualifications with certification or PM qualifications or QQI level 6 or 7 or 8 qualifications). Some of these courses are run during normal working days, so you're getting time off to attend, along with exam time. If you want to do a Masters or something outside, you can apply for the scheme to get fees refunded.

There is no automatic pay increase linked to training qualifications, but they are pretty much essential if you're going to applying for promotional posts.

trigger26 · 27-09-2020 8:21pm

doc22 wrote: »

Outside Dublin there's a small number of AP positions.And it's all very good but most training requires a business case from PO for sign off(presumably in current role) . I've heard about the educational/training opportunities in civil service but you have to push for them and even at that they still mightn't be signed off. There's not some unlimited training budget, far from it. My experience is waiting years for basic internal courses.

Solas are running free ICT courses at the moment due to Covid, exam voucher included to if you complete enough of the course

https://www.ecollege.ie/course/

flipflophead22 · 27-09-2020 8:31pm

Anyone apply for the networks and security role?

Burgo · 28-09-2020 11:22am

flipflophead22 wrote: »

Anyone apply for the networks and security role?

Yeah I did, know a few people who did.

greyslate · 28-09-2020 12:09pm

I've thrown my hat in the ring for this. Can anyone shed some light on which I can expect from the process?

Also, does anyone have any info on how the pension scheme works in the CS? I've reviewed the detail on the Single Pension Scheme website, and while it's clear what someone would contribute, I'm less clear on how much someone would expect to receive in their pension based on contributions over time.

rostalof · 28-09-2020 3:20pm

greyslate wrote: »

I've thrown my hat in the ring for this. Can anyone shed some light on which I can expect from the process?

Also, does anyone have any info on how the pension scheme works in the CS? I've reviewed the detail on the Single Pension Scheme website, and while it's clear what someone would contribute, I'm less clear on how much someone would expect to receive in their pension based on contributions over time.

it's worked out from your career average salary. Pre-2013 it was worked out from your average salary for your last three years.

The current scheme works something like this. You start as a HEO on €48k per year and end up on something like €62k a year. Over your 40 year career, lets say your average salary was €55k per year.

So (40/80) x 55,000 = 27,500
Your pension will be €27,500 made up of the state contributory pension (just under €13) topped up by your civil service pension to €27,500

If your currently 43 years old for example, then you only have 25 years to the projected retirement age of 68 (to be introduced in 2027 although it could be quicker the way things are going)

Then your career average may be lower and your years service will be only 25. Lets say your average is €50k in this instance.

So (25/80) x 50,000 = 15,625
Your pension will be €15,625 made up of the state contributory pension topped up by your civil service pension to €15,625

There's also a tax free lump sum which is worked out in a similar way but I can't remember at the minute.

That my friends, is your "gold plated public\civil service pension" that the media bleat on about incessantly. Oh and there's also an added deduction from your wages, to pay for the premium pensions of the pre-2013 entrants. Isn't that lovely!

TestLink · 28-09-2020 3:26pm

The civil service salary is low but the work load is not that low ! Like the 29K starting salary for EO is pathetic.

rostalof · 28-09-2020 3:31pm

TestLink wrote: »

The civil service salary is low but the work load is not that low ! Like the 29K starting salary for EO is pathetic.

Yeah, but we have 'gold plated pensions'.....

floorpie · 28-09-2020 3:41pm

TestLink wrote: »

The civil service salary is low but the work load is not that low ! Like the 29K starting salary for EO is pathetic.

I assume that any work past 5pm would count as overtime, as in non-ICT HEO roles, at least? If so, that's a decent perk compared to many workplaces.

Burgo · 28-09-2020 3:52pm

floorpie wrote: »

I assume that any work past 5pm would count as overtime, as in non-ICT HEO roles, at least? If so, that's a decent perk compared to many workplaces.

Core office hours are 10-4 but you can work from 7.30-19.30, so overtime wouldn't be counted unless its after that.

doc22 · 28-09-2020 4:01pm

floorpie wrote: »

I assume that any work past 5pm would count as overtime, as in non-ICT HEO roles, at least? If so, that's a decent perk compared to many workplaces.

Many are in at 8 and out at 4, contractors in to 5:30

greyslate · 28-09-2020 5:39pm

rostalof wrote: »

it's worked out from your career average salary. Pre-2013 it was worked out from your average salary for your last three years.

The current scheme works something like this. You start as a HEO on €48k per year and end up on something like €62k a year. Over your 40 year career, lets say your average salary was €55k per year.

So (40/80) x 55,000 = 27,500
Your pension will be €27,500 made up of the state contributory pension (just under €13) topped up by your civil service pension to €27,500

If your currently 43 years old for example, then you only have 25 years to the projected retirement age of 68 (to be introduced in 2027 although it could be quicker the way things are going)

Then your career average may be lower and your years service will be only 25. Lets say your average is €50k in this instance.

So (25/80) x 50,000 = 15,625
Your pension will be €15,625 made up of the state contributory pension topped up by your civil service pension to €15,625

There's also a tax free lump sum which is worked out in a similar way but I can't remember at the minute.

That my friends, is your "gold plated public\civil service pension" that the media in this bleat on about incessantly. Oh and there's also an added deduction from your wages, to pay for the premium pensions of the pre-2013 entrants. Isn't that lovely!

Thanks for responding. Do you have any links to confirm that the State Contributory Pension is included in the Civil Service pension? I had assumed it was paid in addition to it. If this is true it's a pretty terrible deal even compared to my current private sector DC plan.

strangel00p · 29-09-2020 7:59pm

floorpie wrote: »

I assume that any work past 5pm would count as overtime, as in non-ICT HEO roles, at least? If so, that's a decent perk compared to many workplaces.

No, that is not the case, overtime is very rare. HEO is a very low paid job considering the type of work involved.

rvcedd · 01-10-2020 8:35pm

Does anyone know whether the initial response following the application will be communicated by email or by other means (say a phone call?) I got a call from a random number 2 days ago and I've been wondering since whether it could be publicjobs. I didn't have my voicemail set-up at the time so there was no chance of leaving a voice note.

Thanks.

Burgo · 01-10-2020 8:54pm

rvcedd wrote: »

Does anyone know whether the initial response following the application will be communicated by email or by other means (say a phone call?) I got a call from a random number 2 days ago and I've been wondering since whether it could be publicjobs. I didn't have my voicemail set-up at the time so there was no chance of leaving a voice note.

Thanks.

They send messages to your profile on the pas site, so you should get an email saying you have a message and login to check it.

HugoMyBoss · 05-10-2020 6:46pm

I got a message today for an Online Assessment. I applied for both HEO and EO roles in software development.

Not sure which role the assessment is for.

HugoMyBoss · 05-10-2020 6:47pm

HugoMyBoss wrote: »

I got a message today for an Online Assessment. I applied for both HEO and EO roles in software development.

Not sure which role the assessment is for.

Sorry, its the EO level role.

TestLink · 05-10-2020 7:06pm

Online Assessment! Is it only for EO s/w development stream or for Infra support as well?

Numerous HEO ICT PAS Roles

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