ADS State-of-Play report

This report provides a critical review of the Advanced Digital Skills (ADS) landscape in the EU-27, framing challenges against the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP) 2030 objectives. The DDPP 2030 sets an ambitious headline target of 20 million ICT specialists employed across the EU.

The Key Challenge: Current projections indicate a persistent and substantial shortfall. If present trends continue, the EU will reach only 12.2 million ICT professionals by 2030, leaving a gap of 7.8 million specialists below the DDPP goal. This shortage acts as a brake on economic growth and risks undermining Europe’s leadership in critical fields such as AI.

A snapshot of ADS supply and demand

While the EU is a global powerhouse for ICT roles, currently employing over 10.3 million ICT Specialists (second only to Chinese estimates), the current growth rate falls behind what is required by 5.5 percentage points annually. By 2035, the net growth required for ICT Professionals and ICT Technicians is 1.7 million individuals. Accounting for replacement (due to retirement or change of occupation), a total of 4.2 million new entrants must be trained or recruited.

Although the EU performs well in the overall proportion of STEM graduates, it lags behind leaders like the US and UK in ICT-specific disciplines. In addition, the digital workforce suffers from a largely stagnant gender imbalance, with only 19.5% of ICT specialists being women in 2024.

Dynamic skills pockets in demand

The total estimated number of vacancies for ICT Specialists in 2025 across the EU-27 is 420,000 positions. Analysis of Online Job Advertisements (OJA) reveals rapid shifts in specific skill requirements:

• Leading Areas: On a relative basis, the highest demand is concentrated in Data Science and Cybersecurity profiles.
• Cross-Technology Shift: There is a clear, overarching trend toward the rise of security and data management skills pockets. Cloud Security experienced a significant rise of 18 places in ranking between 2023 and 2025.
• AI Complexity: The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not a single profile. Successful adoption requires fundamental expertise in data management, cybersecurity, systems engineering, and general software.
•  Cloud Polarisation: Distinct Cloud Computing roles are characterised by high polarisation, with Security Management surging by 282% and Network Security by 234% in growth.
• Vendor Lock-in: The ICT market shows centralisation, with AWS, Microsoft, and Google accounting for 70% of the EU market. A comparison of training programmes shows a significant presence of vendor-specific courses compared to generic/vendor-neutral offerings.

EU Strategic Investments

The European Union is actively addressing the supply gap through the Strategic Objective 4 (SO4) of the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). The SO4 Cluster is dedicated to developing Advanced Digital Skills (ADS) in key capacity areas (HPC, AI, Cybersecurity). The cluster comprises 55 initiatives (including specialized Master’s courses, short-term training, and a Cybersecurity skills academy) focused on skills delivery between 2022 and 2029. Financial Commitment: The total combined investment (EU funding plus co-funding) for the SO4 actions amounts to €407 million.