Expert Survey on Monitoring e-Skills Demand and Supply in Europe: Is Europe facing an e-Skills gap – Yes or No?
Is it only a myth that Europe lacks the IT skills needed? Or why do so few enterprises actually report having trouble to find the right people? Do we trust statistics that show Germany has only little more than half the number of Science/Maths/Computing graduates than the United Kingdom, and only two thirds of the figure in France? That Poland has 250 *annual* graduates in this field per 1000 IT specialists in the workforce – while the Netherlands produce only 32 per 1000? And what will the effect of the economic crisis be on the demand and the supply of IT skills?
What is your opinion? Please add your comment!
Where possible, please provide empirical evidence and data supporting your opinion and arguments
In the most recent Issue Paper on “Recognizing Value Credentials” of 27 February 2009 the IT industry working group 6 on “Skills and Lifelong Learning” has clearly stated that Europe is facing an “e-Skills gap”, i.e. a serious and increasing undersupply of ICT practitioners in the market which is increasingly not reaching the demand levels in industry and among businesses. By way of quoting Michael Gorriz, euroCIO President with a statement from 29 January 2009 they state that
“companies both on the information technology supply and user side have an increasing need for ICT skilled professionals.
Figures from 2008 indicated the demand to reach 250,000 by 2010. Only 180,000 are likely to be available. The economic downturn will probably release the situation. However, the long-term trend of a shortfall poses a threat to job opportunities and Europe’s competitiveness in the globalised world.
Therefore, it is critical for the success of European industries to re-skill Europe’s workforce for the needs of the knowledge-based economy. Industry-based qualifications and certifications are key factors in keeping European industries competitive. This fact needs to be recognized.”
However, most recent official European statistics on e-Skills – providing data up until the years 2006 and 2007 – show a steady increase of e-Skills supply (ICT practitioners in the workforce and students graduating from university in related subjects) over the past years and not a massive drop off and decrease of student enrolments and graduations from university and IT practitioners in the workforce in this area.
Recent European e-Skills demand figures from the survey in 2007 also show that only less than 4 percent of European companies had hard-to-fill vacancies for jobs requiring ICT specialist skills, and only 7.2% tried to recruit personnel with ICT specialist skills.
(click on picture to enlarge)
Source: Eurostat 2007
Given the public attention that employers’ claims about the e-skills gap have gained recently, one might have expected a higher share of enterprises that state difficulties in this regard. However, this figure does not give any information about how many positions had to remain unoccupied since the number of “hard-to-fill vacancies” within the responding enterprise is not further specified, nor is it further differentiated whether these vacancies were eventually filled.
From these European statistical data one can not necessarily derive that Europe is suffering from or will be facing a very severe “e-Skills gap”.
ICT Practitioners in the European workforce (ISCO 213 and 312: Computer Professionals and Computer Associate Professionals) from 1995 – 2007
(click on picture to enlarge)
Source: Eurostat: Labour Force Surveys
Graduation from tertiary education according to ISCED97 in science, mathematics and computing from 1998 - 2006
(click on picture to enlarge)
Source: Eurostat
What is your opinion? Is Europe facing an e-Skills gap or not? Please add your comment!
If you have any at hand, please provide empirical evidence and data supporting your opinion and arguments.
