A new policy paper advocates a test of digital skills to be mandatory for anyone seeking promotion to the senior ranks of the United Kingdom Public Service.
The paper, from the Commission for Smarter Government, recommended that demonstrated tech expertise should from part of a package of core skills for entry to the Senior Civil Service (SCS).
The Commission said other abilities to be tested should include numeracy and data management; financial management; project, program and portfolio management, and “substantial” operational delivery experience outside the Public Service.
It said existing senior officials should also be expected to meet this “SCS standard” within two years.
Skills could also be boosted by the creation of a “Crown head-hunter” role, an appointment to “turbocharge the hiring of external talent”, according to the Commission.
It also advocated that Departmental Permanent Secretaries should be replaced by chief executives “with a clear focus on strategy, execution and organisational effectiveness”.
The Commission’s report argued that “reform needs to encompass the way all the players in Government work — Ministers, political appointees and Public Servants — to make their experience of working more positive and fulfilling”.
It calls for an MBA-style executive program to train Public Servants and politicians.
It also argued that pay should be one of the main levers to increase public sector performance.
“Current pay frameworks can be a constraint on hiring or retaining exceptional people, especially in roles requiring specialist skills, such as project management or digital,” the Commission said.
Chair of the Commission, Lord Nick Herbert (pictured) said the COVID-19 pandemic had not only deepened the challenges facing the UK, but “revealed that our system of public administration urgently needs a fundamental overhaul”.
“As politicians begin to focus on rebuilding, it is crucial they do not pass over the opportunity and the necessity to reform the machinery of Government,” Lord Herbert said.
London, 17 July 2021
