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European Digital Skills Shortage Looms - Tech Europe - WSJ

March22,2012,7:53AMGMT

European Digital Skills Shortage Looms

ByNick Clayton

ThecomingdecadealreadythreatenstobedifficultforyoungpeopleacrosstheEuropeanUnion.Nowa
newreportsuggestsmorereasonswhytheyshouldworry.Itsaysvacancieswillrise,buttheyouthwill
nothavethedigitalskillstofillthem.
TheInformationDailyreports:

By2015,90%ofjobswillneedeskills.ThenumberofICT
practitionersinEuropewas4.7millionin2007andisforecastto
reach5.26millionin2015.Inmoregeneralterms,jobsfor
highlyqualifiedpeopleareexpectedtoriseby16millionbetween
nowand2020,whilethoseheldbylowskilledworkerswill
declinebyaround12million.
ThefigurescomefromareportpreparedfortheEuropeanCommissiontotieinwiththelaunchof
EuropeanESkillsWeek.ItsuggeststhatdespitetheeconomicdownturnICTrepresents5%ofGDP,has
continuedtogrowatanannualrateof3%,butwillsufferashortageof700,000professionalsby2015.

Additionally,Europefacesgrowingunemploymentwith23
millionpeopleoutofwork,andyouthunemploymentat21%.
TheOECDhasproducedresearchindicatingthathigher
educationhasaquantitativeimpactonemployabilityand
earningspotential.Statisticsreleasedin2011showthatacross
theOECDcountries,83.6%ofpeoplebetween25and64with
tertiaryeducationwereinemployment,comparedto56%of
thosewithoutanuppersecondaryeducation.Similarly,the
earningsgapbetweenpeoplewithhighereducationandthose
withouthasbeenestimatedat57%.
Inthiscontext,thecrisisrevealeddeepstructuralweaknessesin
ourlabourmarkets.Theunemploymentratehitanewhighat
10.1%intheEUinJanuary2012.Youthunemploymentreached
anewhistorichighof22.4%.Itishigherthan20%inabout
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European Digital Skills Shortage Looms - Tech Europe - WSJ

twothirdsofcountriesandcloseto50%inSpainandGreece,
whileitislessthan10%inGermany,Austriaandthe
Netherlands.Thisgrowingdemandcontrastswithadecreasing
numberofICTgraduatessince2005.
ThesefigurescomedespiteanEskillsforthe21stCenturystrategylaunchedfiveyearsagobythe
EuropeanCommission.Thechallengeremainsthatknowledgeworkersjobsaregenerallyhighlymobile.
MostcanmovetoanywherewithanInternetconnectioniftherightskillsarethere.
TheInformationDaily:eSkillsWeek2012:ThereIsAJobWaitingForYou

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