Civil Servants of Specialized Agencies Under District People's Committees

Article 1 of Decree No. 76/SL dated May 20, 1950 of the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam states: “Vietnamese citizens recruited by the people's government to hold a regular position in a Government agency, domestically or abroad, are civil servants according to this regulation, except in special cases prescribed by the Government” [14, p.2].

On November 25, 2019, at the 8th session, the 14th National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cadres, Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees, effective from July 1, 2020. Accordingly, Clause 2, Article 1 of the Law stipulates:

Civil servants are Vietnamese citizens who are recruited and appointed to ranks, positions, and titles corresponding to job positions in agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, and socio-political organizations at the central, provincial, and district levels; in agencies and units of the People's Army who are not officers, professional soldiers, or defense workers; in agencies and units of the People's Police who are not officers, non-commissioned officers serving under the professional regime, or police workers, on the payroll and receiving salaries from the state budget [31, p.1].

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In short, civil servants are those who are recruited and whose activities are associated with certain public power or administrative powers granted by competent authorities and are responsible to competent agencies and organizations for the performance of assigned tasks and powers. The regulation of civil servants in such scope comes from the interconnected relationship between agencies of the Party, the State and socio-political organizations in the political system. This is a unique feature of Vietnam compared to some countries in the world but is completely suitable for the specific conditions and political institutions in Vietnam.

1.1.2. Civil servants of specialized agencies under the People's Committee at district level

Currently, in the legal system and guiding documents of central ministries and branches, there is no official concept of civil servants in specialized agencies.

(CQCM) but only in general as a main component in the concept of "State civil servants".

About the CQCM under the People's Committee (PC) at district level:

Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on Organization of Local Government 2015, amended and supplemented in 2019, stipulate:

Specialized agencies under the People's Committee are organized at the provincial and district levels. They are advisory agencies, assisting the People's Committee in performing the function of state management of sectors and fields in the locality and performing tasks and powers according to the decentralization and authorization of the higher-level state agencies. Specialized agencies under the People's Committee are subject to the direction and management of the organization, staffing and work of the People's Committee, and at the same time are subject to the direction and inspection of the professional activities of the higher-level state management agencies of sectors and fields [30].

Also according to the provisions of Article 17, Law on Organization of Local Government 2015, amended and supplemented in 2019, the administrative agencies under the District People's Committee include departments and agencies equivalent to departments [30]. The organization of administrative agencies under the People's Committees of districts, towns, and provincial cities is currently regulated by the Government in Decree No. 37/2014/ND-CP dated May 5, 2014, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 108/2020/ND-CP including: Department of Home Affairs, Department of Justice, Department of Finance - Planning, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Department of Culture and Information, Department of Education and Training, Department of Health, District Inspectorate, Office of the People's Council and People's Committee. In addition to the 10 specialized agencies organized uniformly in all districts, towns, and cities of the province, Article 8 of the Decree also stipulates the organization of a number of specialized agencies to suit each type of district-level administrative unit such as: Department of Agriculture, Department of Economy and Infrastructure, Department of Ethnic Minorities.

In short, the CQCM under the District People's Committee is an advisory body for the District People's Committee to manage the state in the local sector and field, and at the same time perform the tasks and powers authorized and decentralized by the superior state agency. Therefore, the role

The role of these agencies is very important, which also means that the civil servants of these agencies are also very important. Good civil servant capacity contributes to the effective consultation and implementation of policies and strategies.

Regarding civil servants of specialized agencies under the People's Committee at district level:

According to Article 6, Decree No. 06/2010/ND-CP, dated January 25, 2010 of the Government, civil servants at district level include:

- Chief of Office, Deputy Chief of Office and people working in the Office of the People's Council and People's Committee;

- People holding the positions of head, deputy head and people working in professional agencies under the People's Committee [9].

In addition, in pilot areas where People's Councils are not organized, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of districts are also considered district-level administrative officials.

Thus, it can be understood that civil servants of the agencies under the District People's Committee are Vietnamese citizens who are recruited and appointed to ranks, levels, and titles in the payroll and work in specialized departments and offices under the District People's Committee, receiving salaries from the state budget.

1.1.3. Training

Training is a term used quite widely in many different fields, we can encounter it in the training of cadres, civil servants, state officials or in daily life.

According to the Vietnamese dictionary: "Nourishment is to increase the body's strength with nutrients " [37, p.107]. According to the Vietnamese Encyclopedia, "Nourishment is to increase the level, capacity or quality" [22, p.98].

There are many different ways to understand the term training. Some people think that training is further training, implicitly meaning that training has been supplemented and perfected one step further. Or training is an educational activity to improve qualifications.

Vocational training can be considered a process of updating missing or outdated knowledge, supplementing vocational skills, providing additional training or consolidating vocational skills according to topics. These activities aim to create conditions for workers to have the opportunity to systematically consolidate and expand their existing knowledge, skills, and professional expertise to work more effectively and are often confirmed by a certificate. In social practice, it is believed that: training is an activity of equipping, updating, and improving knowledge and working skills. This is a process of continuously improving professional qualifications, knowledge, vocational skills, and improving capacity on the basis of previously trained knowledge.

According to Decree No. 101/2017/ND-CP of the Government issued on September 1, 2017, regulating the training and development of cadres, civil servants and public employees: "Training is the activity of equipping, updating and improving knowledge and working skills"; "Training according to rank standards is equipping knowledge and working skills according to the prescribed program for civil servant ranks"; "Training according to job positions is equipping and updating knowledge, skills and methods necessary to do well the assigned work" [10]. This is a process of continuously improving professional qualifications, knowledge, professional skills and improving capacity on the basis of previously trained knowledge.

On October 18, 2021, the Government issued Decree No. 89/2021/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 101/2017/ND-CP dated September 1, 2017 on training and fostering of cadres, civil servants and public employees (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 89/2021/ND-CP) with many new contents, creating maximum conditions for civil servants and public employees to participate in learning, as well as regulations to improve the efficiency and quality of training and fostering of cadres, civil servants and public employees.

Thus, training is the process of increasing people's capacity or quality, not equipping them with basic, fundamental or specialized knowledge, but updating and improving knowledge and skills to form the right attitude, the ability to apply and solve specific situations. Training usually only has a certificate certifying that they have completed the training course.

1.1.4. Training of civil servants and training of civil servants of specialized agencies under the People's Committees at district level

Civil servant training (CBT) is a process of activities that increase new knowledge, increase capacity, qualities, and supplement operational skills for civil servants holding a certain title or civil servant rank.

The main purpose of BDCC is to supplement knowledge and skills. Training must be in-depth, updating content related to the work and management or professional capacity of civil servants. For civil servants, training aims to build and improve the quality of the civil servant team, ensuring that they have enough moral qualities, qualifications, and capacity to do well the assigned work.

The training process often takes place at the organizations themselves, at training centers of ministries or national training centers... in many forms such as seminars, scientific discussions, professional training or training courses according to ranks, political theory...

Thus, it can be understood that BDCC is a process of updating missing or outdated knowledge, supplementing professional skills, providing additional training or consolidating professional knowledge and skills according to topics. These activities aim to create conditions for civil servants to have the opportunity to consolidate and improve the system of existing knowledge, skills, and professional expertise to practice their profession more effectively. Training results are often confirmed by a certificate or certificate.

Decree No. 89/2021/ND-CP of the Government stipulates 04 current forms of training: (1) Training according to civil servant rank standards, professional title standards of public employees, (2) Training according to leadership and management position and title standards, (3) Training according to position and title standards of commune-level cadres and civil servants, (4) Training according to job position requirements.

The training content for cadres, civil servants and public employees includes: (1) political theory; (2) knowledge of national defense and security; (3) knowledge and skills of state management; (4) knowledge and skills according to job position requirements.

In addition, BDCC is implemented according to different regulations compared to other types of training and fostering in the national education system, organized and implemented in the system of training and fostering facilities for state officials; operates according to separate funding sources and according to content programs issued by the system of state management agencies on training and fostering of state officials and civil servants.

For the work of BDCC in the agencies under the People's Committee at the district level, it must comply with the plans and regulations of the central and provincial levels. The distinction between BDCC in general and BDCC in agencies under the People's Committee at the district level is shown as follows:

- The work of public service delivery of agencies under the People's Committee at the district level is managed by local authorities (Department of Internal Affairs, Political Center);

- Funding for training is mainly from local budgets;

- Regarding the training program and content, in addition to the general programs prescribed by the State, localities, based on practical situations, determine needs and can include specific content in the training programs. For example: Krong Ana is an area with many ethnic minorities (over 21 ethnic groups) and many people following different religious beliefs, it is possible to include ethnic language content in the training program or increase the duration of state management content on ethnicity and religion accordingly.

From the above analysis and explanation, BDCC in the agencies under the People's Committee at the district level is an activity to equip, update, and improve knowledge and working skills for civil servants of the agencies under the People's Committee at the district level to help them perform their work and achieve the set goals.

1.2. Civil servants and public employees of specialized agencies under the People's Committee at district level

1.2.1. Civil servant standards

* For some countries in the world

In countries with developed administrative systems, civil servant recruitment focuses on finding and selecting people with the most suitable knowledge, skills, experience and work attitude, best meeting the specific requirements of the job position that has been determined from the job analysis stage. Each country has its own principles and standards of civil servant recruitment capacity, depending on the characteristics of the state apparatus and the labor market.

- In Japan, candidates for the national civil service examination must take a multiple-choice test, an essay test and an interview. If any candidate passes these three tests, the National Human Resources Agency will send a list to the ministries and branches that need to recruit so that the candidates can participate in the interviews of the ministries. The trend of reforming the examination emphasizes testing and evaluating application capacity and logical thinking ability instead of testing knowledge; focusing on testing personality and work attitude; testing the planning capacity and presentation capacity of candidates through policy discussion for verification. For the leadership and management civil service positions, this is done through exams and a fiercely competitive screening process. This selection is specifically regulated according to the standards of the National Human Resources Agency.

- The quality of job descriptions and recruitment tests is an important factor in the US recruitment process. The job description shows the mission and general activities of the recruiting agency, clarifying the requirements of the job. One way to improve the effectiveness and practicality of the entrance exam is to analyze the position to be recruited to determine the knowledge, skills and attitudes that candidates need to have to complete the assigned duties. The process of designing job descriptions and entrance exam content involves the participation of experts in the recruitment field. Many US government agencies are not inferior to private companies in "promoting their image" to recruit candidates. Most notably, the Government's efforts in attracting university students to intern at government agencies. The United States is also a leading country in applying information technology to the recruitment process. They have websites specializing in posting career opportunities at agencies.

The state creates comprehensive conditions for candidates from the application stage to completing the entrance exam online.

- In the Philippines, the Civil Service Commission determines qualifications and competencies; conducts recruitment based on the candidate's profile and uses a computer-based competitive examination combined with a written test. They conduct competency assessments through interviews after candidates have passed written and multiple-choice exams. Along with competency, in order to help agencies recruit candidates who meet the standards of civil service ethics, the following sample factors are proposed: stability, emotional autonomy; extroversion; openness to sharing experiences; sense of compliance; dedication to work to determine the spirit of diligence; discipline; order, administrative discipline; sense of compliance; flexibility, harmony; modesty; empathy and ethical behaviors: respect for others; respect for commitments; team spirit, knowing how to harmonize personal interests with group interests; cultural behavior, etc.

In summary, the recruitment of civil servants based on competence associated with the human resource management system based on competence has been and is bringing high efficiency in administrative reform and improving the quality of civil servants in countries around the world. This process is often associated with determining types of competence, building a competence framework and using that competence framework as a basis for selection, use, planning, evaluation, streamlining, training, development, reward and treatment of civil servants. Competency-based selection focuses on selecting competencies that meet the requirements of specific job positions. This selection method focuses on practical competency testing methods rather than learning about past achievements of candidates to assess current competencies. Therefore, they build a system of Job Descriptions, including the knowledge, skills, experience, attitudes and qualities required for each position and use that information as a basis for selecting civil servants. From there, countries attract individuals in a timely manner, in sufficient numbers, with appropriate professional qualifications to apply for jobs in an organization. At the same time, they also select the most suitable person among the candidates to fill the positions.

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