What is the UN Young Professionals Programme?
The Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the United Nations Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination and professional development programmes once successful candidates start their career with the UN.
The Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the United Nations Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination and professional development programmes once successful candidates start their career with the UN.
Exam subjects
Depending on the staffing needs of the United Nations, applicants are invited to apply for different exam subjects. Descriptions of responsibilities, expected competencies and education requirements
differ depending on the area.Depending on the staffing needs of the United Nations, applicants are invited to apply for different exam subjects. Descriptions of responsibilities, expected competencies and education requirements
2019 YPP Examination Areas
- Economic Affairs
- Information Systems and Technology
Who can apply?
The YPP examination is held once a year and is open to nationals of countries participating in the annual recruitment exercise. The list of participating countries is published annually and varies from year to year.
Basic application criteria:
- You must have the nationality of a participating country.
- You must hold at least a first-level university degree relevant for the exam subject you are applying for.
- You must be 32 or younger in the year of the examination.
- You must be fluent in either English or French.
Each year, countries that are un- or under-represented in the United Nations, are invited to take part in the Young Professionals Programme:
Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
The united nations has been made aware that for-profit companies have been selling services related to the united nations young professionals programme (ypp), including application review and preparation for the ypp examinations and interviews. Some companies claim to provide access to inside information. Please be aware that the united nations is not collaborating or partnering with any companies offering ypp-related services of any kind. Any services or programmes sold by such companies are not supported or endorsed by the united nations.
The united nations does not charge any fees at any stage of the ypp application, examination and evaluation process. To keep up to date with accurate information on the UN YPP and UN careers in general, follow the *official* social media accounts of UN Careers: facebook.com/UN.Careers and twitter.com/UN_Careers
