'Digital transition at risk over lack of specialists'

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 20 - The digital transition of Italian businesses risks slowing down as companies have a hard time finding qualified personnel, artisans confederation Confartigianato warned on Tuesday.
    Confartigianato said in a newly released study that businesses need about 699,000 employees with advanced 4.0 digital skills but are unable to find over half (51,8%) - an estimated 362,000 workers who must be able to manage technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, big data, virtual and augmented reality and blockchains.
    The situation is even more difficult for small and medium-sized firms with 54.9% of jobs that require such skills remaining vacant, the study said.
    According to a regional ranking drafted by Confartigianato, Trentino-Alto Adige recorded the most significant mismatch between offer and demand while Lombardy was the region most affected by the lack of professional figures with e-skills: 80,250 specialists, or 52.3% of the total. (ANSA).