Civil Service officials outline New York Helps placements, computer-based testing and applicant portal

Officials from the New York State Department of Civil Service told joint budget committees that New York Helps has produced more than 52,000 appointments across state and local governments and that a longer-term transformation will modernize civil-service hiring.

Civil Service testified that 38,000 appointments are at the state level and roughly 14,000 at local levels since New York Helps began. The department is building a jobs portal and applicant-management system that will let candidates submit a profile once and apply to specific positions statewide. The portal will support training-and-experience (T&E) exams and give agencies and applicants more rapid feedback.

Commissioner testimony also described new computer-based testing centers already opened in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany and plans to expand those sites to shorten the score-and-list delay that candidates have complained about. Civil Service said it has updated roughly 800 job titles to permit equivalent experience in lieu of degrees for high-demand roles.

Lawmakers also pressed Civil Service and OER about a total compensation study funded in 2022; the department said analysis is complete and results will be released this year. Repeated questions addressed pension tier equity (Tier 6) and whether recruitment and retention gains from New York Helps can be sustained after the program winds down in June; Civil Service said it will carry forward successful practices into its transformation.

The department and OER committed to provide follow-up data on help program placements, testing center throughput, and the compensation study's recommendations.