Group B civil service exams in Spain: myth or reality?

Group B civil service exams: do they exist or are they an administrative ghost?

Can someone with an advanced vocational training qualification (FP de Grado Superior) become a group B civil servant in Spain? The answer is yes, but in practice these vacancies are so scarce that many consider them a myth. The confusion began with the reform of the EBEP (Spain's basic civil service statute), which reclassified the groups: the old group B (three-year university degree) became A2, and the new group B was reserved for advanced vocational technicians. However, in regular recruitment rounds C1 positions (for high school diploma or intermediate vocational training) and A2 positions abound, while group B vacancies specifically for advanced vocational training are conspicuous by their absence.

A maze of acronyms and requirements

The actual table is clear: A1 (formerly A) for a full university degree; A2 (formerly B) for a three-year degree; B for advanced vocational training; C1 (formerly C) for high school diploma or intermediate vocational training; C2 (formerly D) for compulsory secondary education. But the administration hardly ever announces group B vacancies. When it does, they are usually for technical trades in town halls or universities, and in regions with primary-sector economies. The rest of the time, group B is a catch-all category where some job offers ask for "high school diploma or advanced vocational training, either one", mixing categories.

The candidate's dilemma: is it worth going for group B?

Those who have seen a group B vacancy note that the salary is higher than for C1 and C2. But the reality is that preparing for an almost non-existent group is risky. Most candidates opt for C1, which is more common, or for A2, which requires a university degree. The result is that group B has become a statistical rarity, a vestige of a classification that was never fully implemented.

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Given all this, one understands the scepticism: group B exists on paper, but in practice it is almost an urban legend. Like so many things in this country, the law says one thing and reality says something quite different.