Captain Haddock wrote:A few weeks ago, I came across a document written in the mid 1950s which contained an explanation of the qualities required of the ideal immigration officer. It spoke of a person who was well-read across a broad spectrum of current affairs, who had an interest in languages, who was alert and had an enquiring mind,who was self-sufficient yet someone who was always balanced, discreet and never overbearing or discourteous.
You just can't get the staff! (Especially on discretion, it's leaking like a sieve, time to put the lock back on the photocopier methinks)
The fifties eh?
Twenty odd years ago a foreign language at at least 'O' level(ish), plus two 'A' levels were required for the role of immigration officer (and similar for the equivalent grade across the civil service) iirc.
Source: Me twenty odd years ago. Advertisements for immigration officer jobs were everywhere. Looked at these jobs after having attended university via an access course (i.e. without the requisite 'A' levels). Was therefore deemed "under qualified", despite having technically exceeded the educational requirements.
Prior to that, didn't the civil service had their own internal exams for important (e.g. senior/manager/officer) positions?
Now that every person and their dog is encouraged to go to university, the application forms I look at appear to be all "competency based". I read this as "Can you talk a good game?". Given this current fiasco and the way the Home Office have dealt with it, it is clearly an incompetent system.
Oops. I may have metaphorically picked the lock on the photocopier for a moment. I can hear Social Media Guidelines alarms going off.
[Runs away and hides]