Professional qualifications and working competence of Vietnamese civil servants

Abstract

The local authorities are divided into different levels in each country, of which the authorities at the lowest level are often called the grassroots authorities or defined in Vietnam as commune-level authorities. At the grassroots level, civil servants keep the role as direct implementers of state management tasks in localities and directly resolve people's requests. Therefore, the public duty performance results of civil servants are not only meaningful to the civil servants themselves in the sense that their professional qualifications and duty performance competence are clearly demonstrated, but also confirm their state agencies’ efficiency and reputation. In this study, the theoretical framework on the influence of professional qualifications and duty performance competence on civil servants’ duty performance results has been developed; Practical assessment of professional qualifications, duty performance competence and duty performance results of local commune-level civil servants in Vietnam are carried out through a survey of the opinions of 300 managers at commune-level authorities in 5 major provinces representing 3 regions of Vietnam: Thai Nguyen province, Thai Binh province (Northern region), Quang Ngai province (Central region), Tien Giang province, Hau Giang province (Southern region). Results from the survey show that duty performance competence of commune-level civil servants are not highly appreciated by their managers, even though they meet requirements of professional qualifications in terms of rank and position standards regulated by laws. The findings suggest policy adjustments to promote civil servants’ professional qualifications in practice so that Vietnamese local civil servants are capable of meeting the requirements of serving the people.