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ESTONIA |
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ESTONIA |
RELATION WITH THE PROFESSION
Relations with the profession are best characterised through three different types of relationships between universities and the civil service:
1. Internships
All PA curricula contain an internship requirement. Internships vary in length and organisation, but they have served as a practical study method since the middle of the 1990s. By 1999, internships were widely known and accepted by both universities and different public sector organisations. Table 6 illustrates the role of internships in different PA curricula.
Table 6: Internships in PA Undergraduate Curricula (out of a total of 160 CP)
Institution
Internships
Remarks
University of Tartu
10 CP / compulsory
10 weeks of practical experience is required, including at least 4 weeks in central government and 4 weeks in local government.
Tallinn Technical University
3 CP / compulsory
Practical training in both central and local governments is required.
Tallinn University of
Educational Sciences
5 CP / compulsory
Estonian Business School
5 CP / compulsory
A university and an organisation jointly supervise all internships. Valuable feedback has been obtained through evaluation forms that are completed for every intern by their immediate supervisors. In the majority of cases, positive opinions have been expressed on the students’ theoretical and practical preparation. In addition, different public organisations are asked to make proposals to the curricula, which are carefully considered. In several cases, long-term institutional projects have grown from internships, and many graduates have been recruited by their former places of internship. A few students have been able to carry out their internships abroad, which is strongly recommended by PA programmes.
2. Employment of PA Graduates
As PA programmes are very new, the number of graduates does not provide a sufficient basis for broader generalisations, but it permits an overview of trends and employment practices from 1996 to 1999. Table 7 provides information about the employment of PA alumni of different universities.
Table 7: Available Figures on Employment of PA Alumni, 1996 to 1999(undergraduate programmes only)
Institution/
Employment
Public sector
(incl. Local
government)
Private sector
Full-time MA/PhD Students
Unemployed or Searching
for a Job
Data Missing
Total Number of
BA Alumni
University of Tartu
43 (7)
(68%)
9
(14%)
8
(13%)
1
(2%)
2
(3%)
63
(100%)
Tallinn Technical University
34 (6)
(89%)
4
(11%)
0
0
0
38
(100%)
Several PA graduates advanced rapidly in their careers, reaching the positions of department heads, policy advisers to ministers, heads of government commissions and so on. Others have successfully applied to Western master’s and PhD programmes. PA graduates are highly appreciated in the Estonian labour market for the following reasons:
- labour turnover in the civil service was very high in the beginning of the 1990s and is still quite remarkable (ten to fifteen percent);
- there is a shortage of highly qualified civil servants, and universities have proven to offer graduates with sound professional skills;
- the open civil service system enables graduates to apply for mid-level and even senior civil service positions;
- neither entrance exams to the civil service nor pre-service training is needed for entry to the civil service;
- public organisations are not perceived to be as attractive as private sector companies, which is why the competition to enter the public service is not high.
There are currently fewer highly qualified PA graduates than needed in the labour market. At the end of each academic year, several public organisations try to recruit directly from universities, although it is common practice for last-year undergraduates to receive attractive job offers before actually graduating and to start working part-time during their studies, often following their internships. Alumni listed as “unemployed or searching for a job” are all in the process of moving from one job to another, indicating that rising unemployment in Estonia has not affected PA graduates yet.
Employment in the central government is more popular than working for local government. In some cases, employment in local governments is considered as a springboard for getting a job in the central government. There may be several reasons graduates prefer the central government:
- students who find a job during their studies are likely to remain in the same city, which is, in many cases, Tallinn, where most PA students study and where the majority of central government institutions are located;
- the role of local governments is still unspecified in Estonia;
- central government organisations offer more interesting jobs and challenges to PA graduates, including EU matters;
- central government organisations tend to be more open to young graduates, and more actively recruit from universities;
- central government organisations are larger and offer better career opportunities.
It should be emphasised that a relatively small portion of PA graduates have chosen to work for the public sector. It is highly appreciated as salaries in the public sector have remained lower than those in the private sector, provided that qualifications needed from two positions in different sectors are similar. In addition, the prestige of the public sector is also low. Those PA graduates who have chosen to work for the private sector have also been successful in their jobs and advanced quickly in their respective organisations. A few PA graduates have secured professional appointments abroad and in international organisations.
Universities have been involved in the design of public administration legislation in Estonia, but they have not tried to substantially modify recruitment practices. Estonian universities have always supported the open civil service, which allows their graduates to obtain better placements, and thus, to staff Estonian public organisations with highly educated and motivated people who will reform the administrative culture in the long-term.
3. Consulting and Advising by Universities for the Government
Individual faculty members of the University of Tartu, Tallinn Technical University and the Tallinn University of Educational Sciences have been actively involved in various think-tanks and committees that design and evaluate different aspects of PA reform and consult on drafting legislation. This has been done on an individual basis according to expertise in particular subfields of PA reform. Since 1999, the University of Tartu has served as a strategic partner to the Estonian government in designing PA reform efforts in the country.
In addition, relationships with PA professionals are developing. Senior civil servants are frequently invited to teach individual classes and participate in boards that evaluate the students (such as the master’s students’ professional exam at the University of Tartu, where practising senior civil servants have to form more than half of the board). All universities involve practitioners in their teaching process, although in most cases practical civil service experience is also required from full-time faculty members.
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