Archive:ICT specialists - statistics on hard-to-fill vacancies in enterprises - 2015 edition

This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here.

Data extracted in March 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article presents recent statistics on ICT specialists in enterprises. Information and communication technology (ICT) has fast become an integral part of business functioning. Its extensive and intensive use, together with new ways of accessing and using the internet efficiently, has created a demand for skilled ICT specialists. ICT specialists are defined here as people whose main job involves ICT and who are capable of dealing with a wide range of tasks concerning corporate ICT systems.

In today's companies, specialised ICT skills are essential to the effective use of ICT in business processes (e-business) and commercial transactions that are carried out electronically (e-commerce).

Figure 1: Enterprises employing, recruiting and having hard-to-fill vacancies for ICT specialists, by economic activity, EU-28, 2014 (% enterprises)
Source: Eurostat (isoc_ske_itspen2) and (isoc_ske_itrcrn2)

Figure 2: Enterprises that recruited ICT specialists, with and without difficulties in filling vacancies, 2013 (% enterprises)
Source: Eurostat (isoc_ske_itspen2) and (isoc_ske_itrcrn2), see list of country codes

Table 1: ICT specialists in enterprises, 2014, (% enterprises)
Source: Eurostat (isoc_ske_itspen2) and (isoc_ske_itrcrn2) and (isoc_ske_ittn2)

Main findings

Enterprises in all EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reported difficulties in recruiting ICT specialists.

Some 38 % of EU enterprises which recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in 2013 reported difficulties in filling vacancies.

Some 10 % of EU enterprises provided their ICT specialists with training to upgrade their ICT skills, while 18 % provided training for other staff to develop their ICT skills.

ICT specialist employment and recruitment

Almost one in 10 enterprises recruited or tried to recruit an ICT specialist

ICT specialists are employed across all sectors of the economy. An increasing number of companies are using ICT, and some may even have their own IT departments. ICT-enabled solutions that require specialists to develop, adapt, maintain or support IT systems may include:

enterprise resource planning;
supply chain management;
customer relationship management; and
the use of cloud computing services.

In addition, some ICT specialists have the relevant skills for specifying, evaluating or performing activities related to innovation or research. As can be expected, enterprises in the ICT sector employ and recruit more ICT specialists than other sectors.

In 2014, one in five EU enterprises employed ICT specialists (20 %), the highest proportion being observed among enterprises in information and communication activities (73 %). Overall, this sector accounts for almost 4 % of all EU enterprises with at least 10 persons employed. For other sectors, the percentage of enterprises employing ICT specialists ranged from 9 % in construction to 32 %, in professional, scientific and technical activities.

In 2013, 8 % of EU enterprises recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists and 3 % reported having hard-to-fill vacancies for jobs requiring relevant ICT skills. In all, 38 % of companies that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists in 2013 reported difficulties in filling vacancies.

In line with the statistics on enterprises employing ICT specialists, information and communication activities dominated the proportion of EU enterprises recruiting such specialists (48 %). However, there was a much lower demand for ICT specialists in the rest of the economy. The percentage of EU enterprises outside this sector that recruited ICT specialists in 2013 ranged from 3 % in construction to 13 % in professional, scientific and technical activities.

Enterprises in all EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reported difficulties in recruiting ICT specialists. For those enterprises that recruited specialists in 2013, the ratio of those reporting hard-to-fill vacancies to those that did not report difficulties in recruitment was highest for the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria. In Slovenia, the Netherlands, Ireland and Estonia, the ratio was close to one, meaning that one out of two enterprises that recruited ICT specialists had difficulty filling vacancies.

Besides recruiting skilled ICT specialists and employees with advanced ICT skills, some enterprises also provide training in ICT. By maintaining and developing their current human capital, this strategy helps them keep up with the evolving nature of the technical environment and versatile use of the internet. Some 10 % of EU enterprises provided their ICT specialists with training to upgrade their ICT skills, while 18 % provided training for other staff to develop their ICT skills.

Data sources and availability

The data in this article are based on the results of the 2014 survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises.

The statistics were obtained from enterprise surveys conducted by national statistical authorities in 2014. The statistical observation unit is ‘the enterprise’, as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93. The survey covered enterprises with at least 10 persons employed.

Enterprises are broken down by size: small (10-49 persons employed), medium (50-249) and large (250 or more). In 2014, 151 000 out of 1.5 million enterprises in the EU-28 were surveyed. Of these 1.5 million enterprises, approximately 83 % were enterprises with 10-49 persons employed (small), 14 % with 50-249 (medium) and 3 % with 250 or more (large).

The survey covered enterprises in the NACE Revision 2 economic sections C to N and group 95.1 (repair of computers and communication equipment) except section K. Figures by economic activity refer to the following selected economic sectors:

manufacturing;
electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities;
construction;
wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles;
transportation and storage;
accommodation;
information and communication;
real estate activities;
professional, scientific and technical activities; and
administrative and support service activities (excluding 'travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities')

Data in tables shown as ‘:’ refer to data that are unavailable, unreliable, confidential or not applicable. Unreliable data are included in the calculation of European aggregates.

Data presented in this article may differ from the data in the database on account of updates made after the data extractions used for this article.

Context

Competitiveness, innovation and job creation in European industry are being increasingly driven by the use of new information and communication technologies. This needs to be backed up by a workforce that has the knowledge and skills to use these new technologies efficiently. Given the transversal role of digital competences in the economy, a shortage of ICT specialists and workers with advanced ICT skills could hamper Europe’s growth objectives. The European Commission is working on a number of initiatives to boost ICT skills in the workforce. This is part of the Commission’s broader agenda for better skills upgrading, anticipating skills demand and matching skills supply to demand. The EU’s long-term e-skills strategy for ICT practitioners is based on the Communication ‘e-Skills for the 21st Century’. Moreover, in order to increase the supply of ICT practitioners by 2015 and to ensure that there are sufficient skilled people to meet future demand for ICT skills, the Commission launched the 'Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs'. The latter is an EU-wide initiative that was launched at the conference on e-Skills and Education for Digital Jobs in March 2013.

Further Eurostat information

Main tables

Information society

Database

Information society, see:

E-skills of individuals and ICT competence in enterprises (isoc_sk)

ICT competence in enterprises and demand for ICT skills (isoc_sk_e)

Enterprises that employed ICT/IT specialists (NACE Rev. 2 activity) (isoc_ske_itspen2)

Enterprises that recruited or tried to recruit personnel for jobs requiring ICT skills (NACE Rev. 2 activity) (isoc_ske_itrcrn2)

Enterprises that provided training to develop/upgrade ICT skills of their personnel (NACE Rev. 2 activity) (isoc_ske_ittn2)

Dedicated section

Information society

Methodology / Metadata

ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises (ESMS metadata file - isoc_bde15d_esms)

Other information

Regulation 808/2004 of 21 April 2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 960/2008 of 30 September 2008 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 1023/2009 of 29 October 2009 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 821/2010 of 17 September 2010 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 937/2011 of 21 September 2011 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 1083/2012 of 19 November 2012 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 859/2013 of 5 September 2013 implementing Regulation 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society
Regulation 696/1993 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community

External links