Non-EU foreigners can also work in the public sector in Germany
What is included in the German public sector
First, let's define the boundaries of this sector. Öffentlicher Dienst (or also Öffentliche Hand) covers government agencies, municipal structures that directly serve the public sector, and also includes companies. Specific examples: the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), the railway company Deutsche Bahn, and the company Fraport – operator of the largest German airport in Frankfurt am Main.
This sector employs civil servants, but not everyone employed in the public sector is a civil servant. As Deutsche Welle notes, only a third of all public sector employees have civil servant status.
So by 2030, every third employee in the public sector will retire. In addition, McKinsey experts emphasize that about 400,000 are in middle management. The public sector will also experience a severe shortage due to a lack of IT specialists.
Are IT specialists the most in-demand professionals?
Christoph Busch, who heads the "Work and Innovation" division at Bitkom, the German association of digital economy enterprises, commented on this forecast: "The shortage of IT specialists hits the public sector particularly hard. It is cross-sectoral. At the end of 2018, there were 82,000 vacancies on the market. Applicants with good qualifications have every chance in the labor market and can choose their employer themselves. Government structures offer less attractive pay conditions compared to others. Add to that the following reasons: hierarchy, lack of flexible training models, and outdated IT infrastructure."
When recruiting personnel, public institutions typically use traditional methods, which limits their options. In addition, they impose more formal requirements on candidates, narrowing the pool of potential applicants.
The shortage of IT specialists was also confirmed by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior. "Federal authorities always need specialists of various profiles, as the scope of responsibilities is very broad. Demand is primarily driven by the needs of specific agencies. Currently, there is a shortage of highly qualified IT specialists," the ministry noted.
What is the image of German civil servants?
A survey of 165 employees in leadership positions and an analysis of the statistical database allowed experts to draw the following conclusions: attracting highly qualified personnel will be difficult. Civil servants work for the benefit of society. In addition, their jobs are protected from fluctuations in the labor market. But despite the persuasiveness of these arguments, the economic factor falls short.
Thus, 60 percent of respondents stated that their financial expectations were not met. And it is the monetary factor that is the most common reason why young talent leaves the public sector for the commercial sector.
Anonymous responses from McKinsey study participants reveal the reasons why public enterprises find it difficult to compete with the private sector: "difficult to get career advancement opportunities," "the best graduates rarely or almost never try to get a job with us," "our organization lacks a competitive offer or it is outdated."
However, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is confident that for young people today, the main thing is not high earnings, but the desire to work for the benefit of society. In addition, civil servant status has other financial advantages besides salary. For example, separate financial assistance (Beihilfe).
"The prestige of German civil servants has been steadily growing in recent years. In the overall ranking of professions, civil servants have improved their position. Since 2007, by 12 percentage points. Civil servants have overtaken managers and bank employees in attractiveness. And some professions in the public sector, such as firefighter, police officer, judge, or teacher, are among the most prestigious in society. For young people, it is important to be able to combine work and family. And here the public sector can often offer even more than the private sector," the German Federal Ministry of the Interior emphasizes.
How much do civil servants earn? As the online portal StepStone explains, those who have just started their duties fall into the first level (Stufe 1). Their salary in the first six years ranges from 1,751 to 2,735 euros per month before taxes. The salary increases with the transition to a new level (by 200-600 euros). The average salary of a civil servant is 46,400 euros per year, StepStone analysts calculated. A department head can earn 60,000 euros per year.
Citizens of Germany or another EU country, as well as states of the European Economic Area (including Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) or citizens of a country with which Germany has an agreement on recognition of qualifications (e.g., Switzerland) can enter the civil service.
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior may make an exception, for example, for citizens of former Soviet Union countries, if there is an urgent need. However, for public sector employees working under collective agreements, for example, at Deutsche Bahn, Fraport, there are no such restrictions related to citizenship.