Bitkom study: Germany lacks 137,000 IT specialists

This has exacerbated the shortage once again. All sectors are affected.

There is a shortage of 137,000 IT specialists across all sectors in Germany. This is the result of a Bitkom study on the labor market for IT specialists, as the IT Times reports. The researchers surveyed 854 companies. Before the coronavirus pandemic, 124,000 jobs were vacant across all sectors. During the coronavirus pandemic, the figures were below 100,000, meaning that the demand and shortage of skilled workers is increasing.

Only eight percent of companies say that the supply of IT specialists is sufficient. 74%, on the other hand, speak of a shortage and 70% expect the problem to get worse. 37% of companies would also fill the positions with immigrant specialists from Russia and Belarus, following an official security check. Only one percent have done so to date.

Bitkom is generally calling for lower barriers to the immigration of IT specialists. Within Germany, interest in studying computer science has fallen for the second time in a row, to 72,075 first-semester students. In 2020, there were 3,000 more students. In 2021, 31,125 people completed their computer science degree. Immigration of qualified workers is therefore essential.