The booming business of EU exam coaching

The EPSO AD5 competition that leads to administrator-level posts at the European institutions, is back after seven years. IT failures, the pandemic, a cancelled competition that had to be rerun at a cost of about €300,000, and criticism from the European Ombudsman over an outdated and opaque testing system all contributed. EPSO’s leadership has admitted the institution’s reputation has suffered.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

During this pause, private coaching companies continued to support candidates preparing. Firms like EU Training and ORSEU Concours continued to offer courses, webinars, practice exams, and one-on-one coaching. Now that the AD5 exam is back, candidates are turning to their services.

The stakes are clear. A permanent post at an EU institution offers salaries up to €7,000 net per month, job security, and a front-row seat to European policymaking. The pass rate has hovered around three to four per cent, with over 40,000 candidates in each cycle. In that environment, any measurable advantage matters.

Data shows that candidates who bought preparation materials were 40% more likely to pass than those who did not. Those who used both EU Training and ORSEU Concours scored, on average, nine points higher out of 60. In such a tough competition, nine points can be the difference between making the reserve list or being eliminated.

Built from experience

Andras Baneth, who started EU Training, says his business began with his own experience taking EPSO exams as a young professional from Hungary in 2003. “There was no good resource at the time, neither books nor websites, to help candidates navigate the complexities of the process,” he told Euronews. He first wrote a book in 2006, then launched a website, and now runs a platform with over 35,000 practice questions, webinars, and coaching for every stage of the process, from application to interview.

ORSEU Concours has an even longer history. Caroline Fiche explains that the company started with consultancy work for the European Commission in the 1990s. Later, a trade union asked them to help members get ready for written tests. “We were one of the first in the market,” she said.

Both companies offer different product levels. ORSEU’s packages start at €65 for a reasoning test course and go up to €333 for a full 14-hour video course. EU Training’s prices range from €135 for a basic set of practice questions to €625 for a full package, including four webinars. One-on-one coaching costs even more.

A test unlike any other

Both companies say their services meet a real need. The EPSO exam is not a standard aptitude test. It has its own formats, online testing system, and way of working. The numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning questions are timed and leave little room for mistakes. Since the 2023 changes, all tests are held on the same day, so candidates must be ready for everything at once.

“If you go into the test on testing day and you’ve never tried to understand the logic or practised on real questions, there’s very little chance you’ll hit the pass mark on all tests,” said Fiche. She pointed to figures from before the 2023 reform: a pass rate of around 3% for unprepared candidates, compared with 25% for those who focus on teaching methods and practice.

“There is a method to writing better for the written test, to resolving abstract reasoning tests at greater speed, to reading faster so you can answer more accurately,” Baneth said. “Those candidates who understand that there is a method and learn how to leverage it are typically the ones who work it out.” The platform also lets candidates compare their scores with others, which is important because ranking, not just passing, decides who gets on the reserve list.

The fairness question

The existence of a paid coaching market around a supposedly merit-based competition creates tension. EPSO charges no entry fee, requires no travel, and publishes sample materials. The competition is designed to be accessible to any EU citizen with a computer and an internet connection. A private industry that measurably improves outcomes for those who can pay sits awkwardly alongside that ambition.

Baneth is direct in his response. “Everybody can pass the competition without any help whatsoever,” he said, drawing a parallel with France’s grandes écoles, which have long given an edge to those who can access them in the national concours. “Do you need to use a service like ours? The answer is absolutely no.” He is also clear that there is no formal link between coaching providers and the institutions that run the exams.

Fiche says that ORSEU has received no complaints or criticism from the institutions regarding the fairness question. She clarifies, though, that “EPSO does not endorse any private preparation providers;” instead, it directs candidates toward official permanent representations.

Who is in the queue

The types of candidates also show differences. Both companies say more applicants from southern and eastern Europe seek coaching, and the reason is clear. “If your salary in Romania or Greece is €1,500 to €2,000 a month and an EU job pays €6,000 to €7,000 net, it’s a huge gap and a huge motivational factor,” said Baneth. In contrast, Nordic candidates are harder to attract, partly because salary differences are smaller and partly because interest in EU jobs varies by country.

Fiche adds that many of ORSEU’s clients are not new graduates but current EU contract staff. These are people already working in the institutions on temporary contracts who now want to make their jobs permanent by passing the competition.

Now that the AD5 competition is back, the race for jobs, stability, and a place in the EU has restarted. The coaching companies are prepared. The real question is whether everyone has an equal starting point.