Europe's economic health is threatened by a severe shortage of workers capable of running its electronic networks, a report commissioned by the networking company Cisco has found. The report warns that by 2002 there will be a shortfall of almost 600,000 staff with the skills to design and manage the computer networks that are becoming the bedrock of almost every business and government worldwide. It says that the skill shortage will damage economic competitiveness in Western Europe. "As networks continue to become the core engine of businesses, there is a tremendous demand for networking skills to manage these systems," said Mike Couzens, senior director for marketing and training at Cisco Systems.
"Business has been discussing the IT skills shortage for some time. But it's not until now, with the explosive use of the Internet in business and the governments in Europe, that we are facing a new crisis in terms of a networking skills shortage," he said.
The survey, carried out for Cisco by the research company IDC, suggests that by the end of this year, over 63 million people in Western Europe will have access to the Internet and that by 2002 electronic commerce will be worth $223 billion in Western Europe alone.
Companies and governments across Europe are warned to act now or face severe economic consequences, particularly in the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) sector where the networking skills shortage is most acute. SMEs are forecast to increase their information technology spending in the next three years to 4.5 per cent of annual turnover, from the current 1.5 percent.
The shortage in network skills is projected to be at 31.76 per cent in Germany by 2002, 13.79 per cent in Britain, 11.33 per cent in France, and 9.91 per cent in Italy.