BERLIN, April 11-The shortage of skilled workers in the German IT sector is set to more than quadruple to 663,000 by 2040 if policymakers do not take appropriate countermeasures, the industry association Bitkom warned Thursday.

According to Bitkom, the shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector has increased significantly in the last five years, with almost 149,000 job positions left unfilled in the previous year.

This number has nearly doubled from the figure recorded five years earlier. Numerous IT-focused positions remain vacant in various institutions, including schools, administrations, and scientific organizations.

"An ever-increasing skills gap in IT means a loss of competitiveness, the value of creation, growth, and prosperity," said Bitkom president Ralf Wintergerst, stressing that the shortage of IT specialists may jeopardize Germany's digital future.

In its report, the association urges filling the 306,000 vacant IT jobs by encouraging professionals to switch to IT, providing better training and education, and motivating experienced specialists to continue working beyond retirement age. The report also suggests increasing the recruitment of skilled workers from abroad, intending to bridge the gap of 321,000 IT experts in the country by 2040.

Germany's aging society exacerbates the shortage of skilled workers, which extends to various professions. In 2023, the government passed a new law with extensive measures to recruit skilled workers from abroad. These include lowered salary requirements for job immigration, faster processes, and easier access to the labor market for talented and experienced specialists.

Late February, Germany's Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil said that the country needs as much help as possible to ensure its economy has enough skilled workers, and the shortage of these people "must not become a brake on growth."