Candidates began sitting the second phase of Osakidetza’s recruitment exams on 6 November at the Aulario Las Nieves venue in Vitoria-Gasteiz. A total of 21,408 people have registered for 41 professional categories in this phase. They include medical and nursing specialties, alongside technical roles and support functions such as management and IT; maintenance is also covered.
The wider 2023-2024-2025 Oferta Pública de Empleo (OPE) offers 5,425 posts across 107 categories, making it Osakidetza’s largest ordinary recruitment process. The Basque Government’s Department of Health says the combined process is expected to be resolved in 2027. Osakidetza says the drive aims to stabilise its workforce under the Basque Health Pact and make the public health system more attractive to professionals.
The current OPE combines the employment offers for 2023, 2024 and 2025. It follows earlier workforce measures that stabilised around 11,000 positions and created 2,160 new posts. The Department of Health reported more than 125,000 registrations across the first two phases. That figure counts registrations, not necessarily unique applicants.
Director General Lore Bilbao attended the opening session. She said the turnout showed that Osakidetza remained an attractive employer and that professionals trusted its selection procedures. Bilbao also recognised the preparation candidates put in and thanked the staff organising the exams. She described the OPE as a commitment to employment stability and to retaining highly qualified, committed professionals.
The selection format has changed. Candidates now sit one multiple-choice test that combines theoretical and practical material. Questions come from a bank published in advance for each category. Those who pass the examination phase can retain their mark for the next selection process in the same category.
Six exam dates are scheduled in November. Tests are taking place at Aulario Las Nieves on 6, 7, 8, 21 and 22 November, followed by the final session at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, or BEC, in Barakaldo on 27 November. This first weekend covers 19 categories and 7,362 candidates. The pharmacy assistant test began at 17:30 on Friday; exams for the other 18 categories are scheduled across three time slots on Saturday and Sunday.
Osakidetza has assigned 381 staff to logistics and IT support, as well as access control and exam supervision. It has also arranged 117 adjustments for candidates with special needs and made provision for people in hospital who cannot travel to an exam venue. An emergency medical team will be available during the tests.
Candidates are advised to arrive in good time: entry will not be permitted once an exam has started. Aulario Las Nieves opens 30 minutes before each test, and candidates must bring a physical identity document and a blue or black pen. Osakidetza recommends public transport because parking nearby is expected to be difficult.
Registration for the third phase remains open until 14:00 on 27 November. It covers 42 further categories, including 40 medical specialist categories, Hospital Pharmacy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics; exams are due to begin in February 2027. A category-specific call for five rheumatology posts was published in the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco under Resolution 1677/2026, dated 30 October. In separate regional coverage, RUSSPAIN reported on an Almería field trial examining red mesh in pepper cultivation.
The Basque Government’s proposed 2027 budget for Osakidetza is €4,612.5 million, up 7.9%, with personnel expenditure set at €2,960 million, an increase of 7.1%. The government has linked the staffing allocation to stronger service capacity and the resolution of the ongoing recruitment process in 2027.
