Catch 22 for an over-qualified engineer in Galicia

A 32-YEAR-OLD engineering graduate with two Master’s degrees failed to land a job with shipbuilders, Navantia, in Galicia.

Referred to as C, as she did not want her identity made known, she told El Pais that she already worked for one of state-owned Navantia’s auxiliary companies.

She applied for one of 42 posts that Navantia advertised last year and more than seven months later learnt she was one of 225 candidates selected for an interview.

C felt that she did well in the group dynamics test and personal interview, where she was told that she would fit in easily in one of several areas in the shipyard which is building F-110 frigates for the Spanish Navy.

In June an email arrived, informing her that she would not be moving on to the selection process’s next phase.

A perplexed C appealed to Navantia’s Human Resources department and Employment Committee without receiving a reply.

Finally she rang her interviewer who explained that she was considered one of the best candidates but the examiners had decided she was “too mature for a junior position.”

They recommended that she apply for a senior post, but C discovered that to be eligible she needed to have three years’ experience.

C has now started legal proceedings against Navantia, claiming that it was unacceptable to be rejected for being over-qualified. Nor should the selection process for a public sector post be indifferent to principles of “equality, merit and ability,” C said.