Minister wants educational requirements lowered in search for digital undersecretary

While originally, the job advertisement for the role of Estonia's undersecretary for digital development at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications specified the need for candidates to have a Master's degree or equivalent, Minister of Economic Affairs and IT Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) wants to lower that requirement to a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
"In order to widen the pool of potential candidates, we propose amending the conditions of the open competition for the post of deputy secretary general for digital development at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications by setting the end date as May 17, 2024 and the educational requirement for candidates to be a Bachelor's degree or equivalent," wrote Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) in a letter to State Secretary Taimar Peterkop.
The advertisement for the role, which is currently displayed on a recruitment website for top managers, lists a Master's degree or equivalent as a requirement for all interested candidates.
On February 19, Luukas Kristjan Ilves, who took up the role of undersecretary for digital development at the beginning of 2022, announced his resignation. Ilves has since continued his work as adviser to the ministry.
After the initial call for applications, the competition was then narrowed down to twelve candidates, one of whom was selected to begin negotiations over a contract. However, the selected candidate opted to take another role instead, necessitating the launch of a new search to fill the role. As minister, Riisalo now wants to lower the minimum educational requirements for candidates from a Master's degree to a Bachelor's degree.
The call for applications outlines that the successful that the undersecretary for digital development will be responsible for both creating and leading Estonia's digital society development in the fields of digital state development, national cybersecurity and communications. The undersecretary is Estonia's IT leader, guiding and driving digital change and ensuring the good governance of the digital state.
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Editor: Michael Cole