IT&Telecom companies: Act before it's too late

Digitization Skills supply Education and training
Sweden must prepare for the digitalization of society. Sweden is already at risk of falling behind, and it is essential that decision-makers act now, before it is too late," writes Fredrik von Essen, business policy expert at IT & Telecom Sweden.

There will be a shortage of 70,000 IT experts in Sweden by 2022, according to the IT skills shortage report published by IT&Telekomföretagen last fall. However, Sweden is not unique. The skills needed in Sweden are also needed in the rest of the world. As the highly sought-after skilled workforce is very mobile, there will be fierce competition between countries that want to benefit from digitalization.

It has only just begun

For Sweden to get into the game, society as a whole needs to be aware of what will be needed to deal with future competition. This includes everything from politicians understanding what digitalization means, to promoting the necessary lifelong learning, to encouraging rather than discouraging skilled labor immigration. The digitalization of Sweden has only just begun. There is still much to do, and many new perspectives to explore, before society is sufficiently equipped.

Four necessary proposals

The report, published by IT&Telecom companies last autumn, presents four overarching proposals that are necessary for the digitalization of Sweden to be a success:

  1. Implement strong general investments in digitization.Digitization risks turning everything upside down if society is not well equipped. That is why it is essential that both decision-makers and authorities are given greater digital competence.
  2. Investing in schools, young people and career choices. Digitization creates new opportunities to offer teaching that is better adapted to each individual student. The first step is to train teachers, the second is to provide sufficient resources for technological solutions.
  3. Invest in higher education and training throughout your career. What you learn in the first year of an academic program is often outdated knowledge by the year you graduate. Similarly, it is important that those already in the workforce have the opportunity to undertake further training to keep up to date. A commission on continuing education should be set up to examine what an education system that is adapted to digitalization and lifelong learning could look like.
  4. Promoting migration and integration. Those who adapt correctly to digitalization will win everything. Making Sweden attractive to skilled people should be a given. The goal should be that at least 10,000 top international students want to build their future in Sweden.

Sweden needs to get into the game

Digitalization creates both new opportunities and challenges. These developments are uncompromising. Society will therefore have to adapt, but this does not necessarily have to be a negative thing. In the future fierce competition for skilled labour, it is possible that good living conditions for individuals will be the main competitive advantage. What is clear today, however, is that Sweden needs to enter the competition for the skills of the future. This is what the digital school debate must be about, not about the existence or non-existence of mobile phones in classrooms. Everything else is nonsense!