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From...
Europe lags in IT skills
December 1, 1998
Web posted at: 11:30 AM EST
by Elizabeth de Bony
BRUSSELS, Belgium (IDG) -- If Europe is to benefit from the job-creating capacity of electronic commerce, it must improve the skills and technical literacy of its population, the European Commission warned in a report published Wednesday.
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The 23-page report, "Job Opportunities in the Information Society" points out that there are currently over 500,000 job vacancies in information technology due to skill shortages, and that the problem is getting worse. By 2002 the gap could widen to 1.2 million jobs if measures are not taken.
Although the analysis of the situation is quite extensive, the report is short on solutions. To correct the situation the report calls on EU member states to improve IT literacy, to rethink education so that students learn with technology and to ensure public access to the Internet.
This situation is particularly troubling, since the audiovisual, information and communication technology industries are among the most dynamic in the EU economy, according to the report. The sectors are not fulfilling their job creating potentials due to underinvestment in new technologies, the report said.
The report warns that the labor shortage will only increase and that there is also the risk of a "brain drain" now that the U.S. has increased its immigration quota for IT specialists by 135,000 over three years.
Elizabeth de Bony writes for the IDG News Service in Brussels.