106,000 unfilled IT positions in Germany. That is what the German Economic Institute (IW) reports for Q1 2026. Compared to the 149,000 from 2023, that sounds like improvement. It is not. The decline is not because more skilled workers are available, but because companies have stopped posting positions altogether, knowing they cannot fill them.
Where the Gaps Are Largest
The Bitkom study 2026 paints a clear picture: Demand has shifted. While traditional system administration and first-level support are less in demand (partly replaced by automation and AI tools), demand is exploding in three areas:
- Cloud & Infrastructure Engineers: Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform. Companies are migrating to the cloud, but lack the people to implement it. 28% of all open IT positions.
- Security Specialists: SOC analysts, penetration testers, security engineers. NIS2 is driving additional demand. 22% of all open positions.
- AI/ML Engineers: Prompt engineering, RAG architecture, MLOps, LLM fine-tuning. The newest and fastest-growing segment. 15% of all open positions, trending sharply upward.
The AI Paradox
AI was supposed to alleviate the skills shortage. Copilot writes code, ChatGPT answers tickets, automation replaces routine tasks. And yes, in first-level support and simple development tasks, that is exactly what is happening.
But at the same time, AI is creating new positions that did not exist two years ago: AI integrators who embed LLMs into existing systems. Prompt engineers who design agent workflows. MLOps specialists who operate AI models in production. Data governance managers who ensure AI systems are compliant.
The net result: More demand, not less. And the new demand requires different, higher qualifications.
Demographics as the Root Problem
The baby boomers are retiring. Between 2024 and 2030, the largest generation in German postwar history is leaving the workforce. In IT, that means experienced system architects, project managers, and network specialists are leaving, and fewer newcomers are entering. The age structure in IT is getting younger, but also thinner.
In Switzerland, the situation is similar, with the added problem that salaries are extremely high by international comparison (median IT salary: 105,000 CHF), which gives Swiss companies a recruiting advantage but blows the budget for smaller firms.
What Companies Are Doing
- Nearshoring and Remote: Development teams in Poland, Portugal, Romania. Works for development, difficult for security and infrastructure (compliance, access to customer systems).
- Career Changers: Bootcamps, retraining, internal professional development. Works for junior positions, does not solve the senior problem.
- Managed Services: Instead of hiring their own people for security, cloud, or AI, companies outsource to specialized service providers. Companies like Nemonicon GmbH benefit from this trend: They offer managed cloud, security, and AI services as a complete package that mid-sized companies can barely build internally.
- AI as a Multiplier: Making existing employees more productive. Copilot, automation, self-service portals. Not closing the gap, but achieving more with fewer people.
The IT skills shortage is not a cyclical problem. It is structural. And it will get worse before it gets better by 2030.
Sources: IW Cologne IT Skills Monitor 2026, Bitkom IT Labor Market Study, DIHK Skills Report 2025/2026, BFS Switzerland.