Talent Management in Europe’s ICT Sector: A Data-Driven Perspective
Keywords:
ICT labor market; talent management; skills shortages; gender disparities; digital transformationAbstract
The information and communication technology labor market in Europe has become one of the fastest growing segments of the economy, reflecting the broader digital transformation that is reshaping industries and societies. Despite this growth, employers and policymakers continue to face structural difficulties, such as a limited supply of skilled professionals, uneven participation across demographic groups, and strong regional imbalances in the availability of talent. The existing scientific literature underlines the growing demand for digital skills but also emphasizes persistent challenges, including gender disparities, mismatches between education systems and industry requirements, and difficulties in achieving cross-border labor mobility. While a considerable body of work has addressed these issues conceptually, fewer studies have employed systematic quantitative evidence to measure the scale of shortages and their variation across European member states. This study applies a quantitative research design based on secondary data from validated European sources, including statistical databases and official labor market monitoring reports. The methodology combines trend analysis for the period 2012 to 2024, cross-country comparisons between highly developed and emerging economies within the European Union, and correlation analysis focused on the relationship between gender balance and skill shortages. The findings highlight four critical dynamics: a near doubling of employment in the information and communication technology sector over the past decade, the persistent underrepresentation of women with only 19.4% of specialists, pronounced regional disparities with some countries reporting more than 65% of vacancies as difficult to fill, and a forecasted shortage of up to 8 million professionals by 2030. By integrating statistical evidence with a talent management perspective, this research contributes to the field by demonstrating how real-time labor data can inform more effective recruitment, reskilling, and mobility strategies, ultimately supporting the sustainable development of Europe’s digital economy.References
Anderson, J. (2022). Europe needs high-tech talent: Investing in people to counter oligopolistic dynamics and dependencies in technology markets. Foundation for European Progressive Studies. https://feps-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Final_6.7.22_Europe-needs-high-tech-talent.pdf
Ansar, N., & Baloch, A. (2018). Talent and talent management: Definition and issues. IBT Journal of Business Studies, 14(2), 174–186. http://dx.doi.org/10.46745/ilma.jbs.2018.14.02.14
Autor, D. H. (2015). Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.29.3.3
Becker, G. S. (2009). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education (3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Brussino, O., & McBrien, J. (2022). Gender stereotypes in education: Policies and practices to address gender stereotyping across OECD education systems (OECD Education Working Papers No. 271). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/a46ae056-en
Collings, D. G., & Mellahi, K. (2009). Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 19(4), 304–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2009.04.001
Collings, D. G., Mellahi, K., & Cascio, W. F. (2019). Global talent management and performance in multinational enterprises: A multilevel perspective. Journal of Management, 45(2), 540–566. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318757018
Drucker, P. F. (1999). Knowledge-worker productivity: The biggest challenge. California Management Review, 41(2), 79–94.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. (2022). The rise in telework: Impact on working conditions and regulations. Publications Office of the European Union. https://assets.eurofound.europa.eu/f/279033/abeb6083ef/ef22005en.pdf
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, & European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. (2018). Skills forecast: Trends and challenges to 2030. Publications Office of the European Union. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/3077_en.pdf
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. (2021). Digital skills: Challenges and opportunities. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/data-insights/digital-skills-challenges-and-opportunities
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. (2023). ICT professionals: Skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update). https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/data-insights/ict-professionals-skills-opportunities-and-challenges-2023-update
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. (2024). Digitalisation and technology. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/skills-intelligence/trend-focus/digitalization-and-technology#1
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. (2025). Bridging the gender gap in vocational education and training: National success stories. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news/bridging-gender-gap-vocational-education-and-training-national-success-stories
European Commission. (2023a). Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/digital-decade-policy-programme-2030
European Commission. (2023b). Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) 2023 (Section 2.3.2, “Labour and skills shortages in the digital age”). https://op.europa.eu/webpub/empl/esde-2023/chapters/chapter-2-3-2.html
European Commission. (2024). The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/desi
European Commission. (2025). Women in digital.
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/women-digital
Eurostat. (2023a). Digitalisation in Europe: 2023 edition. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/interactive-publications/digitalisation-2023
Eurostat. (2023b). EU companies face difficulties in hiring ICT experts. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230712-1
Eurostat. (2025a). Rising share of ICT specialists among employed people. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250708-2
Eurostat. (2025b). Towards Digital Decade targets for Europe. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Towards_Digital_Decade_targets_for_Europe
Eurostat. (2026). ICT specialists in employment. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=ICT_specialists_in_employment
Goos, M., Manning, A., & Salomons, A. (2009). Job polarization in Europe. American Economic Review, 99(2), 58–63. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.99.2.58
Goupil, F., Laskov, P., Pekaric, I., Felderer, M., Dürr, A., & Thiesse, F. (2022). Towards understanding the skill gap in cybersecurity (arXiv:2204.13793). arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.13793v1
Higgins, J. M. (2005). The eight “S’s” of successful strategy execution. Journal of Change Management, 5(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697010500036064
Kenny, E. J., & Donnelly, R. (2020). Navigating the gender structure in information technology: How does this affect the experiences and behaviours of women? Human Relations, 73(3), 326–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719828449
Kenton, W. (2026). Strategic planning with the McKinsey 7-S model. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mckinsey-7s-model.asp
Kurti, E., Ferati, M., & Kalonaityte, V. (2024). Closing the gender gap in ICT higher education: Exploring women’s motivations in pursuing ICT education. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1352029. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1352029
Leo, H. (2001). European skills shortage in ICT and policy responses (WIFO Working Papers No. 163). Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). https://hdl.handle.net/10419/128710
Marler, J. H., & Boudreau, J. W. (2017). An evidence-based review of HR analytics. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1244699
McCartney, S., Murphy, C., & McCarthy, J. (2021). 21st century HR: A competency model for the emerging role of HR analysts. Personnel Review, 50(6), 1495–1513. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-12-2019-0670
McKinsey & Company. (2023). What is talent management? https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-talent-management
Mitrevski, P., Kostoska, O., & Angeleski, M. (2013). E-business implications for productivity and competitiveness (arXiv:1310.7962). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1310.7962
Musallam, N. F., & Samara, E. (2021). Developing a strategic model for aligning a talent management life cycle with corporate practices (Master’s thesis, Blekinge Institute of Technology). DiVA Portal.
Nithithanatchinnapat, B., & Joshi, K. D. (2019). A global view of what fixes information technology skills shortage: Panel data analyses of countries’ human and technology resources. Journal of Global Business Insights, 4(1), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.5038/2640-6489.4.1.1058
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Bridging talent shortages in tech: Skills-first hiring, micro-credentials and inclusive outreach. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/f35da44f-en
Powell, W. W., & Snellman, K. (2004). The knowledge economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 199–220. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100037
Sparrow, P. R., & Makram, H. (2015). What is the value of talent management? Building value-driven processes within a talent management architecture. Human Resource Management Review, 25(3), 249–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.04.002
Startup Genome. (2024). The global AI talent race: How Europe compares to the U.S. https://startupgenome.com/insights/the-global-ai-talent-race-how-europe-compares-to-the-us
Tarique, I., & Schuler, R. S. (2010). Global talent management: Literature review, integrative framework, and suggestions for further research. Journal of World Business, 45(2), 122–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2009.09.019
Trauth, E. M. (2013). The role of theory in gender and information systems research. Information and Organization, 23(4), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2013.08.003
Vaiman, V., Collings, D. G., & Scullion, H. (2017). Contextualising talent management. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 4(4), 294–297. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-12-2017-070
Van Laar, E., Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., Van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & De Haan, J. (2019). Determinants of 21st-century digital skills: A large-scale survey among working professionals. Computers in Human Behavior, 100, 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.06.017
Ward-Warmedinger, M., & Macchiarelli, C. (2014). Transitions in labour market status in EU labour markets. IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3(1), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9012-3-17
World Economic Forum. (2023). Future of jobs report 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2023.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Adriana GRIGORESCU, Diana-Cristina LUNGU, Marian Cătălin VOICA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) with the condition to attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor. They may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
