Brussels, Belgium / RankWire.AI / – Research by Eurofound reveals that European Union countries are unlikely to reach their collective goal of 20 million ICT specialists by 2030 without significant policy reforms. The Emirates News Agency confirmed that the EU is projected to fall short of its 2030 ICT workforce target by 5 million due to ongoing gaps in local training systems. Their report highlights that training programs in primary and vocational education across Europe are not keeping pace with industry demand for specialized digital skills, leading to severe labor shortages that companies are attempting to fill through non-EU skilled migration.
Despite this forecasted shortfall, employment within Europe’s digital sector has shown considerable growth over the past decade. Eurofound’s data indicates that the number of ICT professionals in the EU increased from 5.6 million in 2011 to 10.3 million in 2024, a rise of 81 percent. During the same period, ICT workers’ share of total employment grew from 3 percent to 5 percent. Nevertheless, sector growth rates of 7 to 8 percent annually are still not enough to meet the necessary trajectory for reaching the 20 million target by the end of the decade.
Marked disparities in digital employment remain across EU nations. Eurofound reported that in 2024, ICT specialists made up 8.6 percent of total employment in Sweden, 8 percent in Luxembourg, and 7.8 percent in Finland. Conversely, digital experts accounted for only 2.5 percent of the workforce in Greece and 2.8 percent in Romania. Growth patterns vary widely: Estonia more than doubled its ICT workforce share from 3.4 percent to 7.2 percent between 2011 and 2024, while other member states saw minimal gains during the same period.
Educational Shortfalls Lead to Greater Reliance on International Talent
Surveys across the EU indicate that 57 percent of companies seeking to fill IT vacancies faced severe recruitment challenges in 2024. Talent shortages are particularly acute in senior engineering roles and specialized fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, generative AI, and cloud infrastructure. To address these gaps, firms are increasingly recruiting from outside the EU, boosting the share of ICT professionals born outside the bloc from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 11.9 percent in 2024.
Gender imbalance remains a key obstacle to expanding the EU’s digital talent pool. Eurofound reported that women made up less than one in five ICT specialists across the 27 member states in 2024, holding a 19 percent share. In addition, gender pay gaps in the broader information and communications sector approached 20 percent in 2022, compared to an economy-wide average of 13 percent. Experts warn that underrepresentation of women results in less than three-quarters of the potential digital talent being utilized, limiting diversity in tech innovation.
Core Software and Consulting Sectors Show Positive Growth Trends
The report emphasizes that although ICT roles tend to offer higher pay, better skills development, and improved job quality, these benefits alone cannot fix the underlying labor shortfall. With the EU forecast to miss its 2030 ICT target by 5 million workers, experts emphasize the need for coordinated policies to expand domestic educational capacity and facilitate intra-EU mobility. The study combines quantitative data with insights from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and LinkedIn Economic Graph analysis.
European policymakers and industry leaders are under increased pressure to align national vocational programs with the demands of the digital economy. Eurofound warns that neglecting domestic training efforts will heighten dependency on international talent markets and threaten broader European digital transformation goals. Regulatory agencies are actively reviewing workforce strategies, focusing on expanding training pipelines, increasing female participation in tech fields, and maintaining competitiveness in the global tech arena.