The shortage of workers directly threatens the smooth running of projects that will further the technological upgrading of the private and public sectors, as well as the utilization of Recovery Fund resources.

From 2023 to 2030, consulting firm Deloitte estimates the gap between IT supply and demand at between 7,000 and 7,500 employees per year. The digital projects to be auctioned over the next seven years – more than 1.1 billion euros worth of tenders this year alone – are estimated at 15,000-16,000 specialists per year, and the offer does not exceed 8,000-8,500 people.

It’s no secret in the public sector that critical departments and agencies designed to act as the “backbone” of the digital state suffer from understaffing because the lure of persistence is not enough to attract talent.

In the private sector, due to the start of activities of foreign players in Greece, the wave of immigration of new workers, especially increased during the years of the crisis, and the increased presence of established companies, there is an informal competition to attract workers. “Employees with little experience, which may not exceed two years, receive job offers with a salary higher than what they receive today, even by 50%.

This is an auction in which there is no point, because it does not correspond to the real conditions of the market,” says the head of the K IT company. The phenomenon of the absence of hands is global. In the UK, one in four tech companies are looking for talent elsewhere, according to a survey. In France, for 59% of companies, labor poverty is the biggest threat, and in Colombia, the Minister of Technology, Information and Communications recently said that by 2025 the country will not be able to fill 112,000 programmer vacancies. How is Greek business dealing with this phenomenon?

As Alexandros Manos, managing director of Intrasoft-Netcompany, which operates, in addition to Greece, in a significant number of European countries, told K, the salary increase will mainly affect managers with more than five years of experience. “It is necessary to have a meritocracy in raising wages. In other words, it shouldn’t be an exclusive criterion for companies that an employee accepted a more competitive offer,” he notes.

However, as Mr. Manos adds, in the US, tech companies are shrinking, with layoffs in recent months. “As a result, more resources are freed up in Europe, as we are already seeing in Belgium, Denmark and Greece. Also, contracts for remote workers are not being prioritized when companies cut jobs. Thus, cases when Greek employees stopped working due to remote work in foreign companies and returned to their previous positions have become more frequent,” concludes the CEO of Intrasoft-Netcompany.

By 2030, the annual gap between supply and demand in IT will be between 7,000 and 7,500 workers.

For his part, Nontas Paschalidis, managing director of Neurosoft, notes that Greece is among the countries with a rather low digital business maturity rating. “It ranks 26th, and businesses have failed to adequately integrate digital into their internal operations. A key factor holding back the digital transformation of government and business is the lack of technical skills and digital infrastructure. Based on the current situation, even if immediate measures are taken, they will give a result for the gap that has existed since 2029,” he notes.

As Mr. Paschalidis adds, the challenge for the market today is the need to create flexible, multi-collegiate and multi-functional teams that combine many skills, primarily digital ones. Only in this way will the digitalization of the state and business be crowned with success, ensure the participation of the end user, employee or citizen in the chariot of digital transformation. Therefore, it is essential to develop digital skills through a coordinated learning plan, as well as to constantly inform all participants about the benefits of digital transformation,” comments Mr. Paschalidis.

According to the Managing Director of Space Hellas Yannis Mertzanis, there is an acute shortage of specialists with experience in the field of information technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity. “Since many talents have left the country, special efforts are required to attract human resources. Wage increases need to be carried out carefully, as IT has created mobility at the expense of the RDF and the pandemic, which can be artificial. In other words, technology and IT can be expected to remain the main pole of company extroversion, but it is not certain that the same amount of funds will be available in the next decade as it is today,” emphasizes Mr. Mertzanis.

More effective linkages between the labor market and education are needed to ensure that graduates are better prepared for the jobs they are called to, he says.