The lack of IT specialists in German offices and authorities will become even worse.

According to a study published by the management consultancy McKinsey on Wednesday, the public sector in Germany will lack around 140,000 IT specialists by 2030.

Since the previous calculation from 2019, the gap has increased by 15 percent.

The authors warn that the important digitization of public administration could come to a standstill.

The projections are based on the current rate of recruitment and the number of those retiring in the coming years.

According to the study, the public sector has a total of 5.1 million employees, of whom more than 1.5 million will retire by 2030 for reasons of age.

There is already a gap of 39,000 experts that will more than triple by 2030.

"Against the background of the large digitization programs of the federal and state governments, the estimate of the staff gap can still be considered conservative," said Julia Klier, co-author of the study.

This includes, among other things, the e-file and the online access law, which is intended to digitize the driver's license application.

According to Klier, such projects should continue to drive the need for specialists.

Recruitment too slow, too few offspring

"Digital administration projects such as the digital driver's license application are things that make our lives easier," said Björn Münstermann, who is responsible for public sector consulting at McKinsey.

With the gas terminals you saw what is possible in Germany in a short time.

Now there is also a need for a central authority in the public sector, which controls the measures against the shortage of skilled workers in the IT area.

In order to deal with the shortage of skilled workers, authorities and offices would have to speed up their recruitment processes, according to the study.

However, there were not enough young people from the IT courses to meet the demand.

It is therefore important to train your own staff.

There is a lot of catching up to do here.

"We have been warning for ages about the ever-increasing shortage of skilled workers, especially in the IT sector," said Ulrich Silberbach, federal chairman of the civil servants' association dbb.

The federal government is already paying more in professions where the shortage of skilled workers is particularly serious.

But that alone is not enough.

The federal, state and local governments would have to pay better wages and make working conditions more attractive.

And even if encrusted structures slow down digitization projects, that scares off the next generation.