24.02.2025
New strategies to combat the shortage of IT specialists
Germany has a lack of IT experts, while up-and-coming IT professionals in African countries like Ghana and Rwanda are finding it hard to find a job – so GIZ is bringing the two sides together with some lasting solutions.
Germany is facing a severe shortage of skilled IT staff, with around 149,000 unfilled vacancies in the industry in 2023 alone. Meanwhile, in countries such as Ghana, roughly 100,000 IT graduates every year are finding it nearly impossible to get a job locally.
Martin Hecker is CEO of the IT software firm AmaliTech. He spotted the opportunities that this situation presented and now offers African specialists from Ghana and Rwanda the chance to work for some of AmaliTech’s German clients – without even having to move countries.
Remote experts filling the gap
To make this possible, AmaliTech has built state-of-the-art training centres in both Ghana and Rwanda, where young, talented individuals acquire IT expertise, language skills and real-life experience. Successful graduates get the chance to secure an employment contract, which will see them work remotely from their home country and thus strengthen the local economy in a future-oriented field. The short time difference involved makes cooperation with colleagues in Germany easier. And the model is already having an impact, creating over 400 jobs across five training schemes.
GIZ partnering with the private sector
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been supporting AmaliTech on behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as part of the Special Initiative ‘Decent Work for a Just Transition’. When it comes to recruiting experts, GIZ’s many years of experience make it a reliable partner for German companies, with which it works to develop projects and job partnerships that benefit everyone involved.
Recruiting IT specialists from other countries is vital if companies are to deliver key digitalisation processes and become fit for the future. This is because, according to a warning from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the German economy risks being left behind in the long term without targeted measures to combat the shortage of skilled IT workers.
