E-skills vacancies estimate, main forecast scenario: Distribution of vacancies by Member State

In spite of the significant increase in the employment of ICT professionals in the EU over the past decade, there is a growing gap between the demand for and supply of ICT specialists. According to forecasts, this gap could double over the next five years: from 373 000 in 2015, to 756 000 by 2020 . For the time being, the largest ICT professional skills gaps are present in Germany, the United Kingdom and France. They are expected to grow significantly by 2020, especially in these three countries, mainly due to the insufficient number of ICT graduates compared to the exponentially increasing demand for ICT professionals. A possible solution to remedy the shortage of ICT professionals is working mobility. According to an analysis based on LinkedIn data, around 70 000 ICT professionals move yearly from one country to another, mostly from eastern and southern European to western European Member States.