Brussels, Belgium / RankWire.AI / – Europe faces a significant challenge in meeting its digital workforce goals due to gaps in education, a new study from Eurofound shows. The research indicates that the EU is likely to miss its 2030 target for ICT employment by 5 million workers. Despite ongoing growth in tech hiring across Europe, a shortage of specialized digital skills is emerging. This shortfall stems from national education systems within the 27 member states failing to produce enough qualified digital talent. As a result, European tech companies are increasingly recruiting outside the single market to fill operational gaps, as reported by Emirates News Agency.
Although the forecast suggests a talent deficit, overall employment in Europe’s digital sector has grown substantially over the past decade. Eurofound’s data shows that the number of ICT specialists increased from 5.6 million in 2011 to 10.3 million in 2024, a rise of 81 percent. During the same period, ICT professionals’ share of total European employment grew from 3 percent to 5 percent. However, annual growth rates of 7 to 8 percent are still not enough to reach the 20 million target set by European policymakers by the end of the decade.
Disparities in technology employment remain pronounced across different EU countries. Eurofound reports that ICT specialists made up 8.6 percent of total employment in Sweden, 8 percent in Luxembourg, and 7.8 percent in Finland in 2024. Meanwhile, digital specialists accounted for just 2.5 percent of the workforce in Greece and 2.8 percent in Romania. Growth patterns also vary, with Estonia more than doubling its ICT workforce share from 3.4 percent to 7.2 percent between 2011 and 2024. Other member states saw only minimal increases over the same period.
Educational Gaps Push European Companies to Seek Talent Abroad
Surveys across the bloc reveal that 57 percent of European companies faced serious difficulties filling IT vacancies in 2024. Skills shortages are most severe in senior engineering roles and in specialized fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, generative AI, and cloud infrastructure. To address these gaps, companies are increasingly relying on international talent. The proportion of ICT specialists born outside the EU grew from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 11.9 percent in 2024.
Gender imbalance remains a key issue limiting Europe’s digital talent pool. Eurofound found that in 2024, women made up fewer than one in five ICT specialists across the EU, with a 19 percent share. In addition, gender pay gaps in the broader ICT sector were nearly 20 percent in 2022, higher than the economy-wide average of 13 percent. The underrepresentation of women means European industries operate with less than three quarters of their potential digital workforce, reducing diversity and innovation in technology development.
Core Software Sectors Show Varied Growth Patterns
The report highlights that ICT roles generally offer higher pay, better skills development, and employment quality. Still, these factors alone cannot fix the structural labor shortage. With the EU forecasted to fall short of its 2030 ICT target by 5 million workers, experts emphasize the need for coordinated policies. These should focus on expanding education domestically and improving intra-EU labor mobility. The study combined quantitative data with insights from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and LinkedIn Economic Graph analytics.
European policymakers and industry leaders face increasing pressure to align national vocational training systems with future digital economy needs. Eurofound warns that neglecting domestic training will heighten reliance on external talent sources and threaten Europe’s broader digital transformation plans. Governments are reviewing workforce strategies, aiming to boost local training, increase female participation in tech fields, and sustain economic competitiveness in global tech markets.