IT&Telecom companies call for commission on lifelong learning

Digitization Skills supply Education and training

Digitalization is changing Sweden and the world at an ever faster pace. If we are to continue to compete in a global market, the education system of the future must be much more flexible. In Sweden, there will be a shortage of 70,000 IT experts by 2022, the corresponding figure at EU level is 1,000,000. Therefore, IT&Telecom companies today present a manifesto for lifelong learning and a number of other measures.

- "IT and telecoms is an industry of the future, and programmers have been the most common job in the Stockholm region for some time. "We are doing well in international competition, but it is absolutely crucial for companies, and by extension the entire welfare society, that our member companies find the right skills," says Fredrik von Essen, Industrial Policy Expert at IT&Telekomföretagen.

Already last autumn, IT&Telecomföretagen stated that there will be a shortage of 70,000 IT experts by 2022 - i.e. by the end of the next term of office. The European Commission has drawn similar conclusions at European level, but it is about 1,000,000 people.

In its manifesto, IT&Telecom proposes that the entire education system should adopt a completely new perspective that puts the needs of individuals and companies at the center, rather than those of educators. It also calls for a Commission for Lifelong Learning and, linked to this, proposes a number of concrete measures that policy makers should implement immediately.

Making training pay - It must be easier for individuals to invest in training and skills development and to get their new skills certified. Training must also be profitable in the long term.

Focus on business needs - The knowledge content of training needs to become more relevant, by involving businesses themselves in its design. It must also become more profitable for companies to invest in training and skills development for their employees.

Diversity of trainers - There needs to be a diversity of training providers with common quality-assured methods, offering flexible forms of examination.

- The skills shortage is acute. Only with lifelong learning can we create the conditions for Sweden to be able to adapt to the challenges that come with digitization," says Fredrik von Essen, Industrial Policy Expert at IT&Telecomföretagen.