What the Panhellenic Written Exam is
The Panhellenic Written Exam, the Panellinios Grapti Diagonismos, is the central recruitment competition for permanent posts in the Greek public sector for candidates holding a university (PE) or technological education (TE) qualification. It is run by the Anotato Symvoulio Epilogis Prosopikou, the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection, known by its Greek acronym ASEP. Law 4765/2021 replaced the previous system of standalone ASEP proclamations for many categories with this single written competition, to be held at least once every two years, and made a candidate’s score on it the basis for ranking against every subsequent vacancy in the two year cycle.
The first edition, proclamation 2G/2022, was conducted on Saturday, 4 March 2023 across 527 examination centres in 44 Regional Units, and its ranking list has been drawn on since through a series of Stage B proclamations, one per cadre.
How the exam is structured
Under Article 8 of Law 4765/2021 the Panhellenic Written Exam runs as two tests taken on the same day, each answered in multiple choice format. The Exetasi Gnoseon, the Knowledge Test, examines general or specialised knowledge connected to the nature of the advertised positions, as defined in the ASEP proclamation. The Dokimasia Dexiotiton kai Ergasiakis Apotelesmatikotitas, the Skills and Work Efficiency Test, examines language and numerical reasoning, analytical and problem solving reasoning, workplace prioritisation and characteristics related to efficiency and quality at work. The two tests are weighted equally in the final score.
A minimum score of 55 out of 100 in each test is required to be counted as successful and to enter the national ranking list. In the 2G/2022 edition the pass rate was 19.3 per cent of candidates who sat at least one test, a scale that made the exam a national event rather than a cadre level one and produced a queue of candidates measured in the tens of thousands.
From written exam to public sector post
The Panhellenic Written Exam does not itself appoint anyone. What it produces is a ranked national list per PE or TE category and per kladi or eidikotita. Individual posts are then filled through Stage B proclamations, one per hiring body. Proclamation 1GB/2023, for example, called successful 2G/2022 candidates for 141 posts at the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, including 92 Air Traffic Controller positions with their own age limit of 30 and a separate voice test, and proclamation 2GB/2025 has continued to draw further PE and TE posts from the same ranking list. Post specific procedures such as language certificates, voice tests or medical examinations are applied at Stage B and vary by cadre.
Because the same score feeds every proclamation until the next Panhellenic edition is held, a strong result opens more than one cadre door for the same candidate, and this is a structural change from the previous system of one exam per proclamation. It is also why frontistiria, the private preparatory schools that dominate Greek exam preparation for the Panhellenic university entrance and for ASEP, restructured their ASEP courses around a single flagship Panhellenic Written Exam programme when the new law took effect. The volume of candidates in the first edition made this a substantial market, and the frontistirio remains where most serious ASEP candidates prepare, alongside the reference material published by ASEP itself.
Where to check current information
The official ASEP website, linked above, carries the current schedule for the next Panhellenic Written Exam, the Stage B proclamations open at any time, and the full syllabus and reference material for each cadre. The ASEP information portal, info.asep.gr, publishes the scoring tables, questions and correct answers after each edition.