Information technology industry and skill demand - The European Community's policy in education and training.

Information Technology (IT) has become a significant industrial sector for the European Community. To remain competitive, Europe's IT industry needs manpower with the necessary IT skills. For some time, concern has been expressed over manpower shortages. Since the latter half of the 1980s, the European Community has been supporting IT training, principally via COMETT (Community Action Programme in Education and Training for Technology) and the ESPRIT (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) VLSI Design Training Action. The present study aims to provide an overview of skills availability in the European IT industry, and to assess the effectiveness of the European Community's efforts to provide a greater supply of IT manpower. The study builds on and adds to research already conducted in this field. It is based on literature research in published sources, and on a dedicated survey carried out in five EC Member States in 1992. The survey covered 230 IT firms, of which 68 completed the questionnaire. On the basis, in particular, of the survey findings, it is concluded that a shortage of IT manpower, of critical importance in providing competitive advantage, exists and is expected to continue, if not grow worse, in the short term. While EC IT education and training programmes (COMETT and ESPRIT) have led to an improvement in the availability and quality of IT manpower, more effort is required at European level. Future efforts need to concentrate on SMEs and on the computer services sector