The European Commission is seeking to collaborate with various firms to overcome the digital skills gap, which threatens to stall European ICT growth.

According to an EC statement, following a call to action made at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the EU’s vice president says the skill shortage puts an ICT sector that is the “new backbone of Europe’s economy” at risk.

With Europe facing up to 700,000 unfilled ICT jobs and the total number of digital jobs growing 3% year-on-year, vice president Neelie Kroes says: “The digital skills gap is growing, like our unemployment queues.

“We need joint action between governments and companies to bridge that gap. The ICT sector is the new backbone of Europe's economy, and together we can prevent a lost generation and an uncompetitive Europe.”

Kroes says she is “expecting concrete pledges by companies” to go alongside the tech firms that have already committed to acting, which include Cisco, Nokia and SAP, and recruitment and staffing group Randstad.

The commission will collect pledges on new jobs, internships, training, start-up funding, improving school and university curricula, and assisting labour mobility.

Kroes adds: “The Commission will do its bit but we can't do it alone; companies, social partners and education players – including at national and regional level – have to stand with us.”

Randstad chief executive officer Ben Noteboom says: “We recognise the ever-growing scarcity of IT skills across Europe, a challenge that our clients are facing on a daily basis… We look forward to supporting the digital agenda and most importantly increasing employment in IT. This will be an ongoing commitment for the EC's 2020 road map and beyond.”

The full EC report ‘The Grand Coalition for digital job creation’ is available from the body’s website.