Speaking of technological talents: take up an in progress challenge

March 17, 2025According to an internal Internal McKinsey survey McKinsey internal McKinne Survey. The same survey revealed that 60% of companies cited the scarcity of technological talents and skills as a key inhibitor of this transformation.

The talent gap was also a central theme of our last round table of technological talents in Frankfurt. This event, the third in our round series of technological talents, brought together senior and computer leaders in Europe from all sectors, including technology and the media, energy and materials, finance and the public sector.

While dismissals by large technological companies may temporarily increase the technological talent pool available, there is no evidence of a systematic narrowing of the difference between supply and demand. The results of the survey referenced above indicate that on the basis of current trends, the demand for technological talents should be two to four times higher than the supply in the coming years. Within the European Union only, The technological talent gap could be 1.4 to 3.9 million people by 2027.

Could the AI ​​generation be the solution?

During the round table, General AI was mentioned several times as a possible solution for the shortage of technological talents because of its potential to increase the efficiency of the workforce. Gen ai can Improve the productivity of the 40% product manager (when the requirement specification process is sufficiently automated), for example, and can Have half the time it takes To document and code. Until now, however, this potential has only been achieved by leading companies that have invested in a significant degree of automation; Most companies have not yet seen any improvements in efficiency on this scale.

Despite the potential for improving General AI's efficiency, there is currently no evidence that technology is reducing the demand for technological talent. On the contrary: we note that the demand for technological talents has increased as companies invest in the preparation of the technological backbone necessary for the actual deployment of AI tools. Participants in the round table noted that the resources released thanks to the increased efficiency of the technological teams were mainly redeployed with the delivery teams, allowing these teams to expand their results.

Furthermore, The propagation of the AI ​​generation has generated a new request for a subset of skills and talent. The full potential of the AI ​​generation can only be achieved if it is both integrated appropriately and used effectively by a significant proportion of the workforce. These requirements were not applied to previous technologies, which means that a large number of employees – many of which can have limited technical knowledge – can be rejected or withdrawn. Many tools and outings created by Gen AI must also be managed or interpreted by humans, which requires additional talent needs. Currently, therefore, the AI ​​generation seems to add rather than relieve the problem of talent shortages.

Companies will have to adopt a holistic approach to meet their talented needs

There will be no magic ball solution for the current talent shortage. Instead, companies will have to solve the problem in a global way. In doing so, they could rely on four separate levers (exhibition).

It is unlikely that traditional labor levers will provide the whole solution

In the past, many companies could meet their talent needs using a combination of two of the four levers: purchase and outsourcing. The two levers will always be useful, but it is unlikely to be enough on the current market.

• Externalization can increase the workforce but will not grant access to the full range of skills required. Although the outsourcing of computer labor is a common practice, it generally leads to a high rolling rate because newly reversed workers find more lucrative or permanent positions elsewhere. In addition, relatively low, the divernaments have decreased the talent basin available by outsourcing; Highly qualified talents – and talents that have unique or high value skills – may not always be available. Consequently, although outsourcing can always be the right solution in certain situations, for example, when additional resources are necessary on a limited time basis, this will not always be the case.
• The purchase of talents is difficult given the current tight labor market. The high demand has considerably increased the cost of the limited supply of technological talents, which means that companies are unlikely to buy their full range of talent needs. However, they should permanently scan the market for new hires. They will probably succeed if they focus their research around a well -defined set of key talent needs. Companies will also have to be innovative in their research methods: participants in the round table have indicated that employment advertisements are falling into disgrace for technological jobs and that the acquisition of talents now takes place often through social media platforms and relevant technical communities. A main electronics company, for example, has published a series of recruitment announcements for junior technological talents on Instagram.

Reskilling, Upskilling and Partnerships can help fill the talent gap

As the gap between supply and demand for talents widens, companies are focusing more and more on the construction of the right talent or partnership to access it.

• The strengthening of skills within the existing workforce should be a key element of any talent strategy. Most companies will not be able to fill their talent gap without investing in Reskilling or the reduction of their existing workforce. For example, A recent survey of managers revealed that most plan to increase their AI generation skills pool thanks to the training of existing employeesRather than hiring or contracts, because these skills will have to be integrated into most roles. Measuring the current level of labor skills has historically been difficult, but new tools have facilitated the creation of this base and to assess current working methods. In addition, the results of these skills inventories often reveal A number of existing employees who have skills in demand that they do not currently use. Effective use of existing labor depending on their skills profile can considerably reduce the required reskilling degree.
• The partnership can provide better access to key skills than traditional outsourcing. Large systems integrators have generally access to a large workforce that can be part (although generally not all) of the solution for the problem of talents. Partnership with such organizations can help alleviate turnover and talent quality problems that can make externalization problematic. Talent is less likely to leave, for example, if the partnership agreement which brings them to a specific company that they will receive training and coaching or will be eligible for promotion. The main challenge is generally to create an agreement which reflects a real partnership, as this requires that both parties are open to a different approach to the content and terms of the contract.

To start

Although the ultimate solution to fill talent gaps will likely involve the four levers, the immediate problem for many companies is how to start. The first step will be to develop a clear view of each of the following elements:

• The skills and capacity level required to stimulate the desired digital transformation
• The skill profile of the current workforce
• The talent basin available from current suppliers, as well as all challenges related to existing relationships with these suppliers

Together, these elements will give companies a rounded view of their position and where they must be.

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The demand for technological talents will exceed the supply in the foreseeable future, and the talented gap should therefore continue to be a major subject during future iterations of our round table of technological talents. However, companies that strive to develop a clear reference base for their current situation and strategically use a combination of the four labor levers will be able to obtain the talents they need.

Anna Wiesinger is a partner of the Düsseldorf office in McKinsey, Henning Soller is a partner at the Frankfurt office, Nadja Stark is a manager of commitment to the Berlin office, and Thao Dürschlag is a partner associated with the Munich office.