Thuringia Sets Green Light for New Solar Projects - Almost 14,000 vacant roles remain unoccupied in the state administration.
The public sector in Thuringia is gearing up for a surge of retirements that will create significant hurdles for digitalization and the slimming down of red tape. Over half of the workers are expected to leave their posts in the coming decade, as per State Chancellor Minister Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Left) during a news briefing in Erfurt. By 2035, approximately 14,000 state administration roles could be left vacant. The council had previously been discussing a human resources strategy, a draft of which the state legislature had demanded.
Over 4,000 positions are currently empty
It's not any longer about worker cutbacks, but about how we can fill these empty roles with qualified individuals and enhance administration productivity through digitization, streamlining, and, in some instances, relinquishing specific traditions.
Thuringia presently employs 47,500 workers in the state administration, with only 43,000 actually working there. In the year 2000, Thuringia had 62,000 positions, 59,000 of which were filled.
The Thuringian government's human resources plan aims to attain the same standard of public services with fewer workers. "This is a massive opportunity for de-bureaucratization," said the head of the State Chancellery. In addition, suggestions from a cross-party commission of municipal politicians are also available to decrease standards that influence the municipalities.
Certain administrative functions have already been digitalized, according to the Finance State Secretary Hartmut Schubert. For example, business registrations are entirely digital in Thuringia, a large portion of tax forms are now done online, thousands of public contracts are awarded annually through the state's tender platform, and electronic files are now the norm in all leading state authorities. Citizens can now register vehicles electronically or demand land registry extracts.
Schubert stated, "We must reach a point where administrations just work digitally." This would result in fewer bureaucratic procedures for citizens. Even for those who are less knowledgeable about the digital world, help will be provided at the citizen services of the administrations.
According to Hoff, there are currently 20 agencies in Thuringia that handle and approve various application forms. This has been criticized by the State Audit Office. "We want to lower this - to less than ten," said the minister. In the realm of public administration, it's all about "fewer, but better."
