The Ministry of Finance has just set new modalities for its future external competitions aimed at recruiting senior engineers and IT analysts. Two decrees from the Minister of Finance, dated August 7, 2026, were published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic (JORT) No. 82 of August 14.
Note: these texts do not yet announce the opening of a competition or a number of posts to be filled. They define the eligibility conditions, the selection steps, the tests, and the programs that must be applied when a competition is opened. The opening date, the number of posts, the specialties, and, where applicable, their geographic distribution will be the subject of separate decisions.
For candidates who wish to prepare, the JORT nevertheless provides particularly useful information: the detailed programs for the tests are already known.
Senior Engineers: who will be eligible to participate?
The first decree concerns the recruitment of senior engineers from the General Corps of Engineers of Public Administrations at the Ministry of Finance.
The competition will be accessible to candidates registered on the Register of Engineers, holders of the national engineering degree or an equivalently recognized degree, and aged a maximum of 40 years, in accordance with the calculation methods provided by current regulations.
When a competition is actually opened, the corresponding decree must specify, in particular, the number of posts by specialty and by region, if a regional distribution is planned, as well as the online registration dates. A candidate will be able to apply in only one region and for only one specialty.
A first selection based on the academic and university record
The engineers’ competition will take place in two stages. The first relies on the study of the dossiers. The initial ranking will be based on the average of the baccalaureate, weight 1, and the average of the three years of the engineering cycle completed with success, weight 2. The resulting score is divided by three. In the event of a tie between several candidates, priority is given to the oldest candidate.
The best-ranked candidates will then be invited to submit their supporting documents. The number of documents to be submitted must represent at least ten times the number of posts to be filled, depending on the specialty and the region when these criteria are applied.
The engineers’ oral examination: 30 minutes of testing after 15 minutes of preparation
The second stage consists of an oral examination focusing on the candidate’s specialty. The candidate draws a topic at random and has 15 minutes of preparation, followed by 15 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of discussion with the jury — that is, 30 minutes of tested work, not including preparation.
A peculiarity of the system: the candidate must present the topic in a language different from that used during the discussion. The test is graded out of 20 and evaluates both knowledge and behavioral abilities. A candidate who asks to change the topic drawn will have their score halved.
The final ranking assigns a weight of 1 to the dossier study and a weight of 2 to the oral. To be admitted, a total of at least 30 points must be achieved, with no score below 6/20 in the oral.
Eight major domains in the engineers’ program
The annex published in the JORT is particularly detailed: it numbers eight specialties (I to VIII) and allows us to know now the subjects likely to be assessed.
Statistics and data analysis — descriptive and inferential statistics, time series, multivariate analysis, probabilities, econometrics, as well as notions of international economics, development, and growth.
Civil engineering — geotechnics, foundations, structures, concrete works, construction materials, construction methods, and project monitoring.
Computer science — web and mobile application development, information systems architecture, databases and software project management; cybersecurity (protection of systems and networks, vulnerability analysis, security of web applications); big data, decision-support tools, and cloud computing.
Computer networks — operating systems, communication protocols, installation and administration of networks, IT security, and service continuity.
Electrical engineering — electrical circuits, electromagnetism, electric machines, energy transmission and distribution networks, electronics and programmable logic controllers.
Fluid engineering — air conditioning, heating, sanitary installations and technical maintenance.
Energy engineering — air conditioning, fluid mechanics, heat transfers, energy efficiency, new and renewable energies, water management and environmental protection.
Mechanical engineering — kinematics and strength of materials, machine dynamics, metallic and non-metallic materials, manufacturing processes (machining, casting, plastics processing, welding), control of automated systems and industrial maintenance.
IT Analysts: degree and age requirements
The second decree concerns the upcoming external competitions for the recruitment of analysts from the Analysts and IT Technicians corps of the public administrations at the Ministry of Finance.
They will be accessible to candidates aged 40 years at most and holding, among others, a master’s degree in computer science, a master’s in applied computer science, or a training diploma recognized at the same level. As with engineers, the precise opening modalities, the number of posts, and, if applicable, their regional distribution will be announced later.
For IT professionals: dossier, written and oral
The procedure differs from that planned for engineers. The analysts’ competition will take place in two stages: an initial dossier-based selection, followed by a second stage consisting of a written exam and an oral examination.
The pre-selection will be calculated notably from the average of the baccalaureate, weight 1, and the average of the years of study leading to the required diploma, weight 2. The top candidates will be summoned in a proportion of at least ten times the number of available posts.
The written specialty exam will last two hours and will have a weight of 2. The oral, weight 1, will include 15 minutes of preparation, 15 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of discussion. The exams may be taken in Arabic or French, at the candidate’s choice.
The final ranking combines four elements: the dossier study (weight 1), the written exam (weight 2) and the oral (weight 1). To be definitively admitted, the candidate must total at least 40 points and not obtain a score below 6/20 in either of the two second-stage tests.
Python, Java, PHP, databases, cloud: what to revise
The annex dedicated to IT analysts provides a particularly concrete program.
A first part covers computer and system architecture, including servers, virtualization, cloud computing, memory and file management, as well as Linux, Windows and Windows Server systems.
In programming and software engineering, candidates must know data structures, structured and object-oriented programming, the design of multi-tier applications, and the languages Python, C, Java and PHP.
The program also includes databases: Merise and UML, SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, NoSQL, database security as well as backups and restoration.
Computer networks and their security complete the technical portion. A general knowledge section also covers the Tunisian Constitution, the general status of the civil service, the organization and responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance, as well as pension schemes and social protection.
No registrations opened yet
The publication of these two decrees thus constitutes a preparatory step. No registration dates and no number of posts are announced in JORT No. 82. Candidates cannot yet submit an application on the sole basis of these texts.
However, the participation conditions, the ranking method, the progression of the exams, and, above all, the revision programs are now fixed.
For engineers and IT professionals interested in a career at the Ministry of Finance, this information makes it possible to start preparing for the upcoming competitions even before the opening decrees are published.
