Ministers responsible for public administration initially discussed the development of human resources and the importance of strengthening digital transformation in public administration. In the area of staff development, they shared experiences and best practices on the impact of COVID-19 on working methods in the public administration and the development of the necessary leadership and digital skills. They also reviewed policies and measures that promote women’s participation and gender balance in management positions, as well as measures that help promote work-life balance and address age imbalance in the public sector.

In his address, Minister Boštjan Koritnik stressed the importance of changing the culture of leadership in the public administration. “Leaders need to build trust in their employees, focus on their results and efficiency, and encourage the continuous self-development and development of their employees in the learning organisation. In addition to digital skills, we need to focus on developing cognitive and social skills that enable strengthening strategic and critical thinking and innovative problem solving," the Minister said. He also touched on promoting employee participation in all sectors and their mobility within any organisation or public sector.

Ministers continued to address the areas of digitisation of public administration, focusing on the implementation of the European interoperability policy and its common standards and solutions. “It will be crucial to achieve digitally transformed and interoperable public administrations at local, national and European level,” said Minister Koritnik. They also addressed innovative, data-driven and cross-border digital public services, a secure digital identity environment, data protection and strengthening cybersecurity to protect citizens and businesses.

Tomorrow, on the side-lines of the meeting, Minister Koritnik will meet Alexandra Leitão, Portugese Minister for the Modernisation of the State Administration.