Denmark has an acute shortage of specialists in ICT and companies throughout the country experience immense difficulties with recruiting the right talent. Europe will need 20 million ICT experts by 2030 if it wants to reach the targets of the Digital Decade – yet, this is more than double the 8.9 million people EU Member States employ today.
Digital transformation leaders: Denmark’s case
Some differences should be noted. In a highly-digitalised nation like Denmark, the challenges will not be that pronounced compared to other EU Member States. At the same time, the country will need to more than double the number of IT experts in employment – adding another 200,000 ICT specialists to the 160.000 currently in employment.
Another important element emerges here – the need to tap into the full potential of the workforce by encouraging both young and old to get digitally-savvy and help bridge the gap.
Cracking the puzzle
This is not a new issue: just last year, the Danish Ministry of Employment published an analysis, which highlighted that seniors (aged 55 and over) are discriminated against in the labour market. The study showed seniors experienced many more difficulties in finding new employment compared to other age groups. Many senior employees in the IT sector also find it is difficult to get back in the world of work after being unemployed.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for a number of policy changes in Denmark and helped to steer measures towards the competitiveness of businesses in Denmark and the EU.
Solving the riddle
The issue can be tackled in a number of ways. Human Resources (HR) departments can sort through CVs and applications via a software, excluding the ones that do not fit the specific criteria. If the applicant is above 55, the system can automatically send his application to the “No” pile and reject him. This means recruiters need to evaluate their sorting process critically and encourage age diversity rather than preventing it.
Source: European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
