30th Oct 2016

3 out of 4 ICT professionals in Ireland have third-level degree

New figures from Eurostat, the EU statistical office highlight the education, age and gender of ICT specialists across the EU and within individual states.

Highly educated ICT workforce

77.5% of Ireland’s ICT professionals have a third-level degree. This is well above the EU average of 60%. Ireland is only surpassed in this regard by Spain and Lithuania. Across all sectors, just over one-third of EU workers have a third-level education. These figures demonstrate just how highly educated ICT workers are, and have to be, to remain competitive.

Youthful ICT workforce

Across the EU, more than one in three ICT specialists were under 35 in 2015. Ireland is close to this average with 32.8% of its ICT workforce aged 35 and under. Ireland is one of the few countries in the EU whose age profile in the ICT sector matches closely with the age profile of total employment.

Women still underrepresented

However, the data found that ICT is still a largely male profession, with women representing less than 20% of ICT workers across the EU. Here in Ireland the percentage of female ICT specialists is only slightly higher.