To ask the Minister of Finance for his assessment of whether job advertisements in (i) the Northern Ireland Civil Service; and (ii) North-South bodies, where applicable, should include the requirement for a degree or demonstrably equivalent experience, rather than degree only.

The Civil Service is committed to fair and open recruitment practices that support equality of opportunity and attract a diverse applicant pool.

The requirement for a degree or other formal qualification will only be specified if it is essential to the job role being recruited, for example, in roles such as accountancy or engineering, where professional accreditation is governed by external regulatory bodies.

For all other job roles in the Civil Service, eligibility requirements focus on the skills, experience, and behaviours required to effectively deliver the duties of the role which are assessed through the Civil Service Competency Framework.

The Civil Service is not responsible for recruitment processes for North-South bodies and therefore I cannot comment on eligibility requirements for its job roles.