European policy makers have identified a large shortfall in computing and IT skills among young people that threatens to dent Europe’s ability to compete and could exacerbate youth unemployment in the coming decade. While young Europeans may be good at using mobile smartphones and playing video games, they lack basic digital skills that could make them more easily employable in a rapidly digitizing economy, research from the European Commission shows.
The Commission estimates the shortfall of school leavers and graduates with required IT and digital skills could hit 700,000 by 2015, a deficit that will particularly affect leading digital economies such as Britain, France and Germany. More
