Assessing the impact of ICT on employment
Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen together with Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, will attend an informal ministerial meeting on the significance of the ICT (information and communications technology) sector for employment and working life from 15 to 17 February. The meeting, held in Luleå, Sweden will be the first such informal meeting between EU ministers of employment and telecommunications, and it will play an important part in the preparation for the Stockholm Council. On 16 February, ministers will discuss the shortages of IT qualified human resources. 'The new information and communications technologies pave the way for the new economy and offer opportunities for economic development, growth and increased prosperity in Europe. But the shortage of qualified manpower has also been identified as one of the major obstacles to the Union's ability to take advantage of the full potential of the new technologies for growth and employment,' says Björn Rosengren, Swedish Minister for Industry, Employment and Communications and chairman of the Employment and Social Affairs Council during the Swedish Presidency.