Brussels, Belgium / RankWire.AI / – According to a recent study by the EU agency Eurofound, the European Union is on track to fall short of its Digital Decade objective of employing 20 million information and communications technology specialists by 2030. Official disclosures from Emirates News Agency confirm that the region is projected to miss this ICT target by approximately 5 million workers, despite sustained efforts to expand employment within its tech sector over recent years. The report, titled IT Sector in Focus: Evolution of the EU Digital Workforce, pointed out that the education systems in most member states are struggling to keep pace with the rising demand from businesses for advanced digital expertise. As a result, many European companies increasingly depend on recruiting skilled labor from outside the EU to mitigate severe staffing shortages.
While the projected shortfall is significant, data shows that employment in the European digital sector has experienced notable growth over the past decade. Eurofound’s figures reveal that the number of ICT specialists in the EU grew from 5.6 million in 2011 to 10.3 million in 2024, marking an 81 percent increase. During this period, ICT professionals’ share of total employment in Europe also rose from 3 percent to 5 percent. Nevertheless, the sector’s annual growth rate of about 7 to 8 percent remains insufficient to close the gap needed to reach the 20 million target by 2030, as set by policymakers.
The report also highlights persistent disparities across member states regarding digital employment. Eurofound noted that in 2024, ICT specialists constituted 8.6 percent of total employment in Sweden, 8 percent in Luxembourg, and 7.8 percent in Finland. In contrast, digital specialists made up just 2.5 percent of the workforce in Greece and 2.8 percent in Romania. Growth patterns across the bloc have varied considerably, with Estonia more than doubling its ICT workforce share from 3.4 percent to 7.2 percent between 2011 and 2024. Meanwhile, other nations experienced only marginal increases within the same timeframe.
Educational System Gaps Lead to Dependence on Foreign Talent
Surveys conducted among enterprises across the EU revealed that 57 percent of firms encountered serious challenges in recruiting qualified candidates for IT roles in 2024. The most acute shortages are found in senior engineering positions and specialized fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, generative AI, and cloud infrastructure. To address these critical gaps, companies have increasingly looked abroad, resulting in the percentage of ICT specialists born outside the EU rising from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 11.9 percent in 2024.
Gender imbalance continues to hinder the growth potential of Europe’s digital workforce. Eurofound reported that women accounted for fewer than 20 percent of ICT specialists across the 27 EU member states in 2024, with a 19 percent share. Additionally, gender pay disparities in the broader information and communications sector were nearly 20 percent in 2022, surpassing the economy-wide average of 13 percent. Researchers emphasized that this underrepresentation of women limits the digital talent pool to less than three quarters of its potential, reducing diversity and innovation in technological development.
Core Software Sector Growth Highlights Need for Policy Action
The Eurofound report underscored that, although ICT roles tend to offer above-average salaries, advanced training, and employment quality, these factors alone cannot remedy the structural deficit in digital skills. With the EU expected to fall short of its 2030 ICT workforce target by 5 million, experts argue that bridging this gap will require coordinated policies aimed at expanding educational capacities within member states and facilitating greater intra-EU mobility of skilled labor. The study’s data integrated quantitative assessments along with insights from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and analysis from LinkedIn Economic Graph.
European policymakers and industry leaders are increasingly pressed to align national vocational training systems with future digital economy demands. Eurofound warned that neglecting to address internal skill development shortfalls will heighten dependence on external talent markets and threaten broader digital transformation initiatives across Europe. As member states strive to enhance domestic training programs, boost female participation in technical fields, and remain competitive globally, regulatory authorities are reviewing workforce development strategies to meet these evolving challenges.