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BKA employees: Even with measures, there was still a lack of between 160,000 and half a million skilled workers
Photo: Boris Roessler / dpa
The auditing company PwC warns of a massive shortage of skilled workers in the public sector.
The federal, state and local governments will lack around one million skilled workers in 2030, write the experts in a new report that will be presented next week.
This is "a completely new dimension, with massive effects on the common good and services of general interest," it says.
"It's about nothing less than the question of whether the public sector can still fulfill its core tasks in the future," says Volker Halsch, one of the authors of the study and former State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Ten measures against staff shortages
The PwC experts propose ten measures that the state could use to remedy the dramatic shortage.
They include, for example, a more flexible transition into retirement.
Public sector employees should be encouraged to work beyond the age limit with targeted incentives.
In addition, public employers should specifically open up to skilled workers from abroad.
There are few problems with EU citizens because they are allowed to work in Germany, but more refugees should also be recruited.
In addition, the state could recruit more than before also lateral entrants.
This contributes to »bringing relevant professional experience and expert knowledge into the public sector«.
Exchange programs with companies, in the context of which economic specialists are deployed in the public sector on a temporary basis, would have similar effects.
In addition, according to PwC, the state should massively promote digitization.
As a result, the public service becomes more productive and gets by with fewer staff.
In addition, politics could strengthen voluntary service.
The experts expect that the personnel shortage can be significantly alleviated with the measures they propose.
Depending on the determination with which they would be implemented, there would still be a shortage of between 160,000 and half a million skilled workers.
In order to further close the gap, PwC suggests that the state could also outsource parts of its tasks to external service providers, such as the operation of IT networks or the management of real estate.
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