Europe lags behind in the skills race

More people than ever now work in the IT sector, but there are still too few.

Europe’s digital economy will succeed only if enough people have the skills to drive the sector forward. The EU has already fallen behind in the global race for technological progress, and its limited skills-base could further weaken its prospects. It is an issue that has not gone unnoticed by policymakers or industry.

There is little comfort in that fact that there are now twice as many ICT professionals in Europe as in 2005. The current total of four million is not enough, and in any case, fewer than half of them work directly in the ICT sector – the rest are employed in other sectors: banking, finance, media and automotive.

A survey by the International Data Corporation (IDC) says much more is needed, since only 10% of jobs in the EU will not require a certain level of ICT skills by 2015.

This is why European companies are demanding that EU and national governments do something to increase the numbers of computer science graduates rapidly.

Currently, European industry is obliged to recruit computer scientists from outside the EU, particularly from the US and Asia. Europe’s education systems have not kept up with the demands of industry, and the trend is negative. Up to 2005 the number of computer science graduates was rising, but it has since been in decline.

European universities are producing fewer than 150,000 computer science graduates every year. Without an improvement in the next four years, a gap of at least 384,000 ICT practitioners will appear, even if the EU economy recovers at only a normal rate. If the economy grows at the most optimistic extreme of current forecasts, the deficit could be 669,000.

Lack of e-skills

In 2007, the EU, conscious that something had to be done, at last responded. The Commission adopted its “e-skills for the 21st century” action plan and member states committed themselves to long-term national strategies.

But last October a report for the European Commission highlighted just how much still needs to be done. It pointed to an “increasing lack of e-skills in the European workforce”. The results, it said, were a growing shortage of highly qualified ICT practitioners, and insufficient digital literacy among workers and citizens, “which is acting as a barrier to economic growth, competitiveness and employment”.

It also pointed to “rather widespread mistrust in the commitment of politicians to foster the longer term e-skills policies needed for the transformation of our workforce and economy”.

Digital divide

The e-skills gap is not just a matter of how many students obtain a degree in computer science. If the digital economy is to grow and if governments are to increase online services, the general population’s ability to use the internet needs to improve too. According to the Commission’s Digital Literacy Report and Digital Competitiveness Report, 43% of the EU population now use the internet daily. But one-third of people have never used it. Authorities see bridging this “digital divide” as crucial if the digital economy is going to benefit all citizens.

Last May’s digital agenda, published by the Commission, highlighted measures that member states and the Commission should take to tackle these problems. Countries have been told to make learning about the internet a mainstream subject in national curricula. Digital literacy and skills is a priority of the “New skills for new jobs” initiative that the Commission launched last year, which includes a new council for ICT skills and employment.

Some member states have energetically promoted e-skills. Leaders in the field – Sweden, Finland and Denmark – have ensured that digital literacy is “commonplace” within the population and the workforce, through past policies and education and training, according to October’s report. The EU’s leaders hope that the member states at the other end of the spectrum – notably Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain – can learn from the Nordic countries and improve their national policies.

The EU has been slow to respond to the challenge of the e-skills gap. Now that it has started to take action, the Commission’s strategies have been well received. But many member states still lag behind. Europe is still short of the skills needed for a fully functioning digital economy.

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