Extensive data and Insights on the broad and complex issue of `The Digital Skills Gap in the EU` have just been published through a collaborative effort of Huawei, ALL DIGITAL with the support of EY. The 1st report is focused on the EU overall and includes 4 detailed case studies for Finland (the European Digital frontrunner), Germany, France, and Italy; and the 2nd one is dedicated to Spain (in Spanish – see link in comments). A few select takeaways from the 50+ page English report (I will be writing more about this as the topic merits attention): 📍 The distinction between Skills Shortage & Skills mismatch is important. The mismatch in the EU is much larger than we realize, as companies report that they are forced to hire ICT professionals that are under-qualified for their needs. 📍 Despite the healthy number of highly educated ICT professionals, the skills mismatch persists. The survey shows 55+% of companies report a lack of ICT professionals with the skills needed. 📍 Curricula misalignment with what is needed in the market is one big factor. For example, courses on cloud, 5G, IOT are largely missing from the educational offerings, while these are technologies transforming all industries. Figure 15 on page 22 of the EU report goes into more detail and shows clearly the top priorities of the industry. 📍 The Digital Skills gap varies by country (the report presents details). Taking the example of Cybersecurity, Germany and France have done a great job of increasing the cybersecurity trained workforce even though more is needed. The study shows evidence that a lot of the training is done through the private sector. 📍 Re-skilling and Upskilling of employees is largely missing in the SME sector. 📍 An Ecosystem approach is the only way to tackle this huge issues. All the actors currently involved – Governments, the industry, and the education and training providers – agree that COOPERATION, a common language, and standards are missing. Stay tuned for more reflections on this topic – The gender gap, the up-skilling and re-skilling opportunities, the local governments efforts and takeaways from the Digital Talent Summit hosted by Huawei at the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona.
Source: LinkedIn.com