SDA Bocconi Public Administration: How can we attract young people—and in particular the most talented and dedicated to public service—to the public sector? SDA Bocconi has been working on this crucial issue for some time: in 2021, as part of the National School of Administration’s research program “Projects for a New Public Administration—A Collection of Ideas to Guide Change in Public Administrations,” it conducted the study “We Want You(ng): Attracting and Motivating Young People in the Public Administration.” “It emerged that the best young people do not see the public administration as offering opportunities for career and skills growth,” explains Marta Barbieri, Associate Professor of Practice at SDA Bocconi and an expert in public management, in this interview with Driving Change.
“We want you(ng): attracting and motivating young people in the public administration”: how did this research come about?
In 2021, thanks to a call for proposals with the SNA, the National School of Administration. We called it We Want Young because the theme was exactly what everyone is still talking about today: the public administration needs young people, and it seems that these young people aren’t coming, or at least are coming with great difficulty. Thanks to our collaboration with the SNA, we asked young people under 35 about their preferences and tried to understand whether there was a difference between those who have joined the public sector and those who work in the private sector or are unemployed. It was very useful and interesting because we received over two thousand responses with a good balance in the sample across gender, geographic origin, and educational background, so the data we collected is valid.
Why are young people so reluctant to work in the public sector?
People under 35 generally seek peace of mind, but that’s not all. They also seek competence, opportunities to expand their knowledge, and the chance to grow. These are three elements that, in the minds of young people, are hard to find—except in specific areas of the public sector. In my view, this is one of the public sector’s shortcomings, one of the reasons why young people don’t choose the public sector.
And what about those already working in the public sector?
Among them, another need emerges: the need for good opportunities for promotion within the organization. Here’s another problem with the public sector: you start in a position and stay there, unless you pass another competitive exam. When a young person goes to a job interview, one of the questions they ask is: “Excuse me, but where will I be in 2–3 years?” What are my prospects in 3–5 years? And whoever is hiring in the public sector should realistically tell them: you’ll be there, you’ll still be there. Because unless you pursue a competitive exam path, the position will still be the same. This is very daunting; it’s one of the factors holding young people back.
And what about the most talented young people?
To understand this, we cross-referenced young people’s grades with their Public Service Motivation (PSM), a measure of how oriented they are toward public service. So we looked at students with high grades—whether in their undergraduate degrees or exam averages—and high PSM scores, which is our target group, because the public sector needs the best candidates. Like everyone else, these young people are looking for a good work-life balance and a peaceful work environment. But they also want a stimulating environment and the opportunity to develop skills and competencies. This proves the point: the talented ones will come if you provide stimulation and help them develop their skills. On the other hand, if you look at what those with lower GPAs and PSM scores are looking for, in addition to work-life balance and a peaceful environment, they seek job security, harmony with colleagues, and a good relationship with their boss. Moreover, 53% of the top performers say they would work in the public sector, so it’s not true that they have a preconceived notion from the start. Those with low PSM scores are actually less interested in working in the public sector, but if they have no other options, they end up there, and so you end up with a target group that isn’t your own.
What else is driving young people away from the public administration?
Another major problem that, in my opinion, characterizes our country is the lack of interaction between the public and private sectors. In other contexts, the public sector is just one of many employers, and people choose it just as they might choose another option; it’s very easy to enter and leave. The fact that we’re still tied to these long, rigid, cumbersome competitive exams makes entering and leaving the public sector very complex, so once you’re in, you tend to stay. But even this is less true today, because in the recent large-scale hiring competitions held at the national level or by many major public agencies, young people either don’t show up for the exams, or they pass the exams but don’t show up on their first day of work, or they do show up but leave after a few months because they win a position at a better agency, or they receive opportunities from the private sector because they’re disillusioned with the reality of the public sector.
And what about pay?
As a starting salary, the public sector is currently seen as a good employer. A young woman or man who becomes a nurse starts with 1,300–1,450 euros in hand; a new elementary school teacher earns about 1,300, while a sales clerk in a large shopping mall might earn 400–500—there’s a significant difference. So, as a starting point, it’s viewed positively. In fact, “an attractive overall compensation package” ranks third among what those working in the private sector or the unemployed look for in the public sector, while “an above-average salary” ranks ninth: this is proof that, as a starting point, the public sector is just fine—it could even be attractive to young people. The problem is what we were saying: in five years? In ten years? The idea of entering a very static, inflexible environment with no room for growth comes back. After five years, our nurse might be earning 1,600–1,900 euros net per month, and our teacher might be earning 1,400 euros. That same teacher, after 40 years, might be earning around 1,800 euros. And then there’s another problem…
What is it?
We speak generally of the Public Administration, but the PA is a vast world made up of countless diverse entities—ministries, municipalities, institutions, schools, agencies—and the entire gray area of utilities, where there is a need for highly skilled technicians and experts, who are, moreover, extremely difficult to find given the competition with the private sector. Ministries are not municipalities, they are not agencies, they are not regions, they are not port authorities, they are not universities. The problem is that we make laws that are the same for everyone, but then the work is very different across these various entities. Generally, laws are drafted with the reality of ministries in mind, but local governments and hospitals operate differently. In short, there is an inability to differentiate, which also reverberates within individual organizations. Take the case of age diversity. The private sector practices age management—that is, it devises and implements differentiated human resources policies—because a 27-year-old and a 62-year-old are very different. The private sector has understood this well and therefore manages them differently. In the public sector, they are unable to do this; they cannot differentiate policies for those under 35. Perhaps some try, but it is not the norm. The word “differentiation,” especially when it comes to human resources, immediately raises red flags. The issue is not just managing the young people who are coming in, but also those who are already there. To create favorable conditions for young people, you must help those who are no longer young to integrate and accept these young people who arrive with different needs and requirements: the ability to implement these policies is fundamental.
Is there a possibility of creating growth and career paths within the public administration?
In my view, yes; there is some potential to create pathways from within. For example, in the ministries, the institution of “high-level professionals” has been established, introducing the possibility of having professional managers within the sector. Until recently, a manager was appointed on a temporary basis for a 3- to 5-year term, but if the person who came after you decided not to confirm your appointment or if an internal selection process opened up and someone better than you was found, you would lose that status. By becoming a “highly qualified professional,” however, you have the opportunity to assume this role as a mid-level manager, with a significant salary increase compared to what was previously offered. Not only that: the Merit Bill provides for an internal career path, so the selection process to become a manager will not be limited to a competition open to both internal and external candidates, but will instead be a competition/selection process exclusively for internal candidates. So, as a civil servant, you can become a Highly Skilled Professional (EP) and then a manager through internal selection processes. Of course, we’ll need to see how decentralized contracts are structured to incorporate the EP role and the implementing decrees of the Merit Bill for vertical progression to managerial positions. To date, many agencies and ministries have not yet established the “elevated professional” positions: if they do not take this step, this internal career path will not exist, and this is a factor that greatly discourages young people, in my view.
What about local governments?
They have chosen to transform the system of organizational positions into high-level qualifications, allocating only additional financial resources but without any provision for a change in role. This is because it is a new development that frightens the public: once you assign a role—much like that of a manager—it is not like in the private sector, where you become a manager today and go home tomorrow if you fail to meet your targets. In the public sector, once you’re a manager, you’re a manager, and so you keep a manager. Until now, organizational positions were instead an assignment, not a role. So moving from the concept of an assignment to the concept of a role in the public sector—and thus aligning with the idea of having true managers, the kind who are true managers in the private sector—is a bit of a brake, a bit of a scare.