The shortage of IT specialists in Germany is set to worsen dramatically. According to a recent study by the digital association Bitkom, there could be a shortage of around 663,000 IT specialists by 2040 if massive countermeasures are not taken. The shortage is already evident today: 149,000 IT positions will remain unfilled in 2023 - almost twice as many as five years ago. In addition to companies, administrations, schools and scientific institutions are particularly affected.
While more than 50 per cent of current employees in the economy as a whole will retire by 2040, this will only affect 32.5 per cent in IT professions. However, this harbours long-term risks: The IT sector will be hit all the harder by demographic trends after 2040. To counteract this looming gap, Bitkom is proposing various measures, including greater promotion of lateral entry, better integration of older IT specialists and targeted recruitment from abroad. However, these measures are designed for the long term and will not have an immediate effect.
One efficient solution is to automate simple and recurring IT support tasks. This is because many IT specialists spend valuable time on routine tasks that can also be automated. Intelligent technologies can relieve the burden on IT teams and deploy employees more effectively.