In accordance with the provisions of article 26.2 of Law 50/1997, of 27 November, of the Government, the public consultation is carried out prior to the elaboration of the ”Draft Order approving the regulatory bases for the granting of scholarships for the preparation of the selective tests for entry into the bodies and scales attached to the Ministry of Industry”

The Ministry of Industry and Tourism is entrusted with the convening of entrance exams for the bodies and scales attached to it, in accordance with the principles of equality, merit and capacity in access to public functions enshrined in articles 23.2 and 103.3 of the Constitution.

Through these scholarships, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism seeks to make these principles effective in accordance with the mandate of article 9.2 of the Constitution, which obliges the public authorities to remove obstacles that prevent or hinder the conditions of equality of individuals from being real or effective. To this end, it has been considered necessary to initiate a line of grants, in the form of scholarships, aimed at promoting the preparation of applicants for membership in the Bodies and Scales attached to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, which may be managed with the collaboration of one or more autonomous agencies or entities linked or dependent on the Department.

The granting of scholarships will be determined, to a large extent, by the level of income of the applicants, in order to attract talent to the professions mentioned, eliminating socioeconomic barriers that affect the principles of equality, merit and capacity, and limit access to the bodies and scales mentioned in the previous paragraph.

For the announcement of the aforementioned scholarships, it is necessary to establish in advance regulatory bases that guarantee that the granting of these grants respects the principles of publicity, transparency, concurrence, objectivity, equality and non-discrimination, in accordance with the provisions of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Subsidies and its Development Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 887/2006, of July 21.

The Spanish system of public service, as designed by the Spanish Constitution, is based on the right of citizens to have equal access to public functions and positions, with the requirements set forth in the laws (art. 23.2 EC) and in the effective realization of this right in accordance with the principles of merit and capacity (art. 103.2 CE).

However, the exercise of this right is conditioned by social, economic and geographical factors that make it more difficult for people with lower incomes or residents in rural or peripheral environments to participate in selective processes to enter the public service. This difficulty increases as the degree groups/subgroups scale up so that these obstacles are often insurmountable barriers to access to the higher bodies of the State Administration. The value of these candidates, accredited by obtaining their degree or university degree and, in the case of State Industrial Engineers for having also completed a master’s degree in industrial engineering, fully justifies that the Ministry of Industry and Tourism implements mechanisms to promote their participation in selective processes under conditions of greater equality.

It is up to the public authorities to promote the conditions for the freedom and equality of the individual and of the groups in which he or she is integrated to be real and effective; to remove obstacles that prevent or hinder his or her fullness (art. 9.2 CE).

In response to the exponential growth in demand for technical profiles in much of the public sector, the Ministry of the Civil Service has multiplied the number of places that are convened each year. However, the number of candidates has remained stable in recent calls so that the ratio of candidates per place is insufficient to cover more than a third of the positions offered.

The profound changes in social structures and job expectations of the younger generations mean that flexibility in the organization of work and the possibility of changing not only occupation but also geographical location to face stimulating and innovative challenges are more important than previous ones. In this context, lifelong public employment in a hyper-regulated public organisation is less attractive to many highly qualified people.

The profile of applicants that traditionally corresponded to that of young graduates and with very little work experience, is increasingly placed in middle-aged people with a significant professional background in the industry and energy sectors. Thus, the average age of the opponents is clearly higher than that of other special bodies.

However, there is little variation in the geographical origin of the candidates, most of whom come from urban environments where there are centres of higher education in industrial engineering or a developed industrial fabric. Those who live in other environments, basically the residents in what has been called the emptied Spain and in the extrapeninsular territories, perceive themselves with fewer opportunities to access this upper body.

Article 3, paragraph 20, of Royal Decree 656/2024, of 2 July, approving the offer of public employment for the year 2024, provides: “Ministerial departments may introduce measures of an economic nature to facilitate the preparation of selective tests, such as grants or scholarships, as well as other similar measures to be agreed upon according to budgetary availability.”

The scholarships are established to eliminate the socio-economic barriers that limit access to the public service and affect the principles of equality, merit and capacity, so that they can increase the number of people who attend the selective processes to enter the bodies and scales attached to the Department.

Given the panorama set out in the previous section, it is necessary to attract talent to the State Administration by promoting participation in selective processes by eliminating the socio-economic barriers that discourage it. The design of a scholarship system that personally, directly and effectively supports candidates with lower incomes has proven to be an effective instrument.

For this reason, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism will launch in 2026 the first call for scholarships for opponents of the State Industrial Engineers Corps.

With these scholarships, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism joins the lines of State aid for the preparation of oppositions of subgroup A1 that they currently develop:

• The National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) for the general bodies of subgroup A1 attached to the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service: Senior Civil Service Corps, Senior State Information Systems and Technology Corps and National Civil Service Officer Scale;
• The Center for Legal Studies (CEJ) for admission to the Judicial and Fiscal Careers, and in the bodies of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice and State Lawyers (Sera Scholarships), and
• The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IEF) for admission to the bodies attached to the Ministry of Finance, with functions of administration and management of the Public Treasury: Tax Inspectors, State Auditors and Auditors, Superior Cadastral Management Corps, Superior Customs Surveillance Corps, Corps of Architects and Corps of Forestry Engineers.

Establish the regulatory bases governing the future call for scholarships, on a competitive basis, subject to Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Subsidies, to cover the expenses caused by the preparation of the selective entrance tests in the bodies and scales attached to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism that are determined, in order to eliminate the socio-economic barriers that affect the principles of equality, merit and ability and that limit access to them.

1. The following bodies and scales of subgroup A1 are attached to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism:
   1. Corps of State Industrial Engineers, code 0700.
   2. Scale of Senior Graduates of Autonomous Agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, specialty of Industrial Property, code 5600A.
   3. Scale of Senior Graduates of Autonomous Agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, specialty of Metrology, code 5600B.

The project approves the regulatory bases for the granting of scholarships for the preparation of the selective tests for entry into the bodies and scales attached to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, establishing the mandatory electronic processing of the procedures for its concession.

There are no other alternatives for the realization of the purposes indicated above, since the proposed order constitutes the normative channel provided by the legal system for the approval of the bases.

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