Europe is set to fall five million jobs short of its 2030 Digital Decade target of having 20 million information and communications technology (ICT) specialists in employment in the EU by 2030, according to EU research agency Eurofound.
A new report from the group has found that education and vocational education and training systems are failing to meet current and projected employment demand in most EU member states.
As a result, labour migration from non-EU countries has become a primary driver for recruitment in the sector.
The study found that Ireland has had a notable increase in employment in the sector, rising from 4.7% of total employment in 2011, to 6.3% in 2024.
This places Ireland above the EU average of 5%.
Ireland also has a below EU-average proportion of people aged 35 or under working in the sector.
Across the EU, 37.2% of workers in 2024 were 35 or under, in Ireland it was 34.4%.
Overall, the proportion of ICT specialists employed in the EU increased from 3% of total EU employment in 2011 to 5% in 2024.
During the same time period, the number of ICT specialists expanded significantly to reach 10.3 million – an 81% increase from 5.6 million.
The report found that women remain notably under-represented, accounting for fewer than one in five ICT specialists in 2024, while the gender pay gap in the broader sector stood at nearly 20% in 2022, well above the 13% economy-wide average.
“The research highlights that addressing these shortages requires targeted policy intervention focused on domestic talent supply and mobility rather than job quality adjustments, as IT roles already feature above-average pay and working conditions,” according to Eurofound.
“Closing the gender employment gap is an urgent economic necessity, as failing to attract women means operating with less than three-quarters of the potential talent pool,” it added.
Eurofound is an EU agency based in Dublin that provides information, advice and expertise on working conditions, industrial relations, and labour market change.
