Tech giants help EU fill 700,000 tech jobs

 

Gallery

By Reuters

Posted on 25 Jan 2013 at 17:47

The European Commission unveiled a deal with tech giants including ARM, Nokia and HP aimed at filling up to 700,000 high-tech job vacancies.

Calling it a grand coalition, EU Telecoms Commissioner Neelie Kroes said the companies pledged to help boost skills by offering new jobs, internships, training, free online university courses or providing startup funding.

High-tech vacancies have proven hard to fill because job seekers either do not have the right qualifications, have qualifications not recognised throughout the European Union, or do not speak English.

"The digital skills gap is growing, like our unemployment queues," Kroes, who was in Davos for the World Economic Forum, said in a statement. "We need joint action between governments and companies to bridge that gap."

Aside from HP, other companies which signed up to the pact included SAP, Cisco, Nokia, ARM and Alcatel-Lucent, as well as staffing agency Randstad, Norwegian telecoms provider Telenor and Italian oil group Eni.

"The ICT sector is the new backbone of Europe's economy, and together we can prevent a lost generation and an uncompetitive Europe," Kroes said.

The European Commission is seeking to spur economic growth, boost competitiveness and tackle a record jobless total of 26.1 million in the 27-country European Union, or 10.7% of the working population.