The lack of personnel, which entrepreneurs complain about (especially in the catering and tourism sectors), is starting to affect the public sector, especially for technical competencies. If a “permanent position in the ministry” was the dream of many young people a few years ago, it is no longer so today. The public administration looking for specialist personnel for Pnrr has to deal with numerous layoffs by the winners of the competitions and employees who quit after several months of work. What’s going on in public? A rivalry (which had never existed before) emerged between the various state administrations and between public and private affairs.
Public administration seeking experts for Pnrr
The last two years have witnessed a massive rebound in public competitions due to staffing demand for the creation of Pnrr and the release of turnover. According to public service unions, by 2030 one million civil servants, about 150,000 people a year, will be leaving their jobs to retire.
So there’s a public job (Minister Zangrillo spoke of 156,000 new hires for this year alone), but there’s another problem to be solved: especially since the average 40-year-old wins public contracts (perhaps he already has a job, even if it’s precarious). Currently, the State offers often low-paying and fixed-term jobs, which effectively alienate specialized profiles who often have no trouble finding employment in the private sector.
Public tenders, avalanches of waivers
Public works are no longer as coveted as they used to be: in 2022 only 40% of competitions covered all available venues. According to data from the Formez Report, in 2021-2022, two out of ten candidates gave up on temporary government posts, and nearly one in ten gave up on permanent positions.
The public competition lawsuit for 800 experts (economics, legal, IT, statisticians, mathematicians, engineers were sought-after figures) to be hired on a fixed-term contract to create Pnrr saw as many as 400 waivers. is symbolic. The main reason for this is that it is the public administrations that compete for the candidates. Winners of a competition that have participated in other selections, needless to say, find themselves in a position to choose the best location by opting for a permanent contract. However, the private sector has also contributed to the escape from public competition by offering more advantageous working conditions than public administration. And so, defying the past when government work was viewed as life insurance that guarantees full rights and protection, in the face of higher wages, people prefer to work in the private sector rather than working for the government.
Escape from public employment: possible relapses
We are witnessing the desertification of public tenders, a situation that negatively affects public administrations. In the last 2 years, 50% of the candidates have decided not to even participate in public competitions, this rate rises to 70% for technical profiles such as engineers, architects and statisticians. Public offices, therefore, have to deal with a shortage of unqualified and skilled personnel, making it difficult for the state machinery to function. At this rate, it will not be possible to complete Pnrr’s projects, it will not be possible to fill the current staffing gap, and it will not even be possible to carry out minimal activity properly (it already happens, see delays in issuing electronic ID cards and passports). This means that disruptions in public administration will continue and the gap between public and private will gradually widen.
Fp-Cgil notes that at least 1.2 million jobs are needed if we are to guarantee minimal administration functionality, and that public administration has “over the years, from 30% of the workforce to over 80% of the workforce in some of these offices, from the Ministry of Justice to hospitals and local health authorities,” Strengthening public administration, investing in skills and personal development, hiring staff and increasing salaries is the only way to guarantee universal public services that adequately meet the prerogatives of the Constitutional provision through local governments, INPS offices and the national labor inspectorate”.
Pnrr’s decision to stabilize fixed-term workers
Banning competitions for experts by offering fixed-term contracts and salaries that were not sufficient for the professionalism of the candidates was not a good idea at all. And so, to prevent further bloodshed by skilled workers, the government has decided to hide with the Pnrr decree, but at the same time to start talks with unions to discuss (and hopefully resolve) public employment issues.
With the Pnrr Decree, approved on February 19, public administrations will be able to stabilize around 500 temporary workers hired to implement Pnrr from March 1, provided they have at least 15 months of seniority. The 2,800 workers called in to assist the Southern governments are also stabilizing. That’s not all, even the Revenue Administration is considering abolishing the mandatory 1-year internship prior to transition, before launching the competition for 2,500 civil servants. He was hired, precisely, to prevent a possible escape of the winners of the competition to other administrations.
To return to attracting personnel specializing in public administration, it is necessary, first of all, to step back from fixed-term contracts: It is not clear why a graduate spends his time and energy in a competition just to find himself unemployed. A few years later. And embrace a steady pace of change in wages and working conditions, opening the door to smart work and hybrid ways of working. Only in this way will the public administration be able to withstand competition and show that it keeps up with the times.
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Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
