
Without the right policies, Germany could lack around 663,000 IT professionals in 2040. The digital association 'Bitcom' calculates that 149,000 are currently lacking in the sector.
A large gap will arise mainly due to the increased need for developers, system administrators and other IT specialists. By 2040, a total of 1.92 million jobs will need to be filled. However, only 1.26 million skilled workers are available.
Bitcom makes it clear that in addition to these figures, there are thousands of unfilled IT jobs in administration, schools and scientific institutions. The shortage of IT professionals, which has worsened over the years, affects the entire country and slows down much-needed digitization. A widening IT skills gap means loss of competitiveness, added value, growth and prosperity. Germany is losing its digital future, according to IT experts.
About 108,000 additional skilled workers could enter the market by 2040. If more students and apprentices are attracted, if interest in IT among the female population increases and computer dropouts are stopped.
To achieve this goal, measures such as the introduction of more computing classes in schools across Germany, as well as the opening of chairs for computer science, digitization and artificial intelligence, are needed.
An additional measure is the retention of older workers above retirement age. This means that the gap can be reduced by another 68,500 places.