Failure to invest in digital skills will cost jobs and growth opportunities

The government's budget lacks measures to equip the workforce for the jobs of the future. Digitization is both destroying jobs and creating new ones. In the IT sector alone, there is already a shortage of 70,000 people, and the skills shortage is a problem that affects many other sectors.

The government is investingSEK 11 billion in measures for jobs and transition, including more places at universities of applied sciences, short courses for professionalsand support for employers for skills initiatives for short-term work. However, there is no specific investment in digital skills.

- We welcome the investments that are being made to strengthen skills supply and training, but need targeted investments in digital skills. In order to ensure a rapid recovery after the Corona crisis, investments are needed to meet the greatly increased need for digital skills that exist in many industries. This includes both technology-related skills such as systems development and data scienceas well as in other sectors such as automotive and finance. In addition, general digital skills are required in virtually all professions as a result of accelerating digital transformation," says Fredrik von Essen, industrial policy expert at IT&Telecom companies.

The need for skills in the IT sector has long been highlighted by IT&Telecom companies and a report from 2017 shows that over 70,000 people will be missing in the industry by 2022. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's package of measures to restart Sweden highlights the importance of investing in skills supply to industries in need of labor. The proposals are also included in the political action plan that IT&Telecom companies presented early in the the corona crisis, which proposes a skills reform to equip individuals for the future and support the transition in the labor market.

- In the current situation of high unemployment, we need better matching between those who are outside the labor market and where the new jobs are emerging. In our action plan, we therefore propose a skills deduction where the state reimburses employers' costs for skills development of staff. We also present a specific proposal, tech-checks, aimed at individuals for the development of digital skills," says Fredrik von Essen.

Last week, the government announced 1.4 billion in 2021 for the expansion of broadband throughout the country. Investments that IT&Telecom companies worked for a long time and which welcomed.