Reference:
State of Maine Civil Service Rules, Chapter 6
5 MRSA, Chapter 372, § 7063

Every classified job in State service has minimum qualifications that must be met by all applicants. Minimum qualifications for an employment classification are initially determined by analysts from the Bureau of Human Resources and, in many cases, subject matter experts from appropriate agencies. Minimum qualifications are based on a variety of criteria such as the know-how necessary to perform the duties of the classification, supervisory responsibility, salary range, and position in the organizational structure. Various combinations of job-related education or training, and/or job-related work experience are used to measure minimum qualifications. Although specific duties may vary among jobs within a classification, the minimum qualifications for all jobs within a classification are generally the same.

In common use, minimum qualifications are often expressed as a "# -year class." For example, Engineering Aide II is a "two-year class," Auditor I is a "four-year class," and Management Analyst II is an "eight-year class." The number of years referred to is a combination of years of job-related education or training and job-related work experience. Civil Service Law requires that the examination process provide suitable substitution of appropriate experience for formal educational requirements, except where educational qualifications are required for necessary licenses or registrations, or when educational requirements are standards by federal agencies that provide funding for state programs.

In general, an associate’s degree is given 2 years credit, a bachelor’s degree is given 4 years credit, and a master’s degree is given 6 years credit. In order to receive credit for a degree, all degree requirements must be completed at the time of employment; (applications will be rated in anticipation of completing degree requirements). In some circumstances, the completion of specific, job-related courses may be applied to establish a minimum qualification. Job-related work experience is substituted for educational attainment on a year-for-year basis. (Experience is prorated for part-time employment; for current state employees, seasonal positions of 25 weeks or more are treated as one year of experience.) When considering job-related experience for a professional classification, job-related experience must be at a professional level.

In some cases, the minimum qualifications for a specific position are highly specialized when compared to other positions in the classification. These special qualifications are considered in addition to the minimum qualification for the classification. If applicants on the classification register do not possess the required special qualification(s), there may be a special recruitment for which current State employees and the public must apply, whether or not they are already on the general employment register for the classification.

The Bureau of Human Resources completes the evaluation of competitive classifications. Human resource representatives in the agency where a vacancy exists are responsible for the evaluation of direct hire applications.

The minimum qualifications for classified positions (and many unclassified positions) in the Executive Branch are detailed on the classification specification for each classification. A link to the Bureau of Human Resources "Job Specification File" is provided below. The minimum qualifications for positions that are currently open for recruitment are listed on the career opportunity announcement. A link to career opportunities is also provided below.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

BHR Job Specification Search
Career Opportunities

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