Brussels blues deja vu

It was an interesting day-and-a-half, not exciting, not surprising, but interesting nevertheless. There was a lot of "high-level dynamism", as it was called, or hot air, as it could be understood, and there were a lot of serious and sincere individuals who showed quite clearly that they wanted to find a solution to a problem ... unfortunately a problem that probably does not exist.

The real problem as I see it doesn't have anything to do with a skills gap or getting more people into work. It's about big IT companies pitching their wares so that they appear more important than they really are. The biggest round of applause of the day went to a question from the audience asking why the big-company certification programs are so expensive. The answer was that we get national governments to pay for them, so it's not an issue. Not an issue? Our tax euros are at work again, giving money to people who don't need it for a problem that probably doesn't exist. Or, how about the day before when an economist in the crowd merely asked what's the answer to the supply/demand equation? No response. You can't expect the "industry" to make things more attractive to potential employees, just because they are needed. No, I didn't think so. It would appear we're seeking solutions to a problem that doesn't really exist.

Throughout the day-and-a-half, I heard of project after project that was being implemented and what unmitigated successes they were. But we've still got a problem. The participants were allegedly key players in the technology revolution that changes everything, but none of these projects had been heard of by others, so I have to ask who's using the technology for what? This topic has been on the table for at least 15 years, it was interrupted once when the "industry" imploded (remember that dot.com thing?) and once they got their bearings again, they started crying wolf that without qualified personnel, the industry in Europe was doomed, Europe was doomed. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being told that if we didn't do what they wanted this time, there would be hell to pay. And I suppose there will be.

For me, one of the most telling moments of the conference was when a well-placed individual from one of the largest high-tech companies in the world, and particularly in Europe, stated with unmitigated candor that in his company alone, within the next two years, over 10,000 people were going to lose their jobs if they did not re-skill. Yes, there is a skill gap, in this company at any rate, and it was also clear, that this company didn't feel the slightest necessity at all to do anything about their own employees. They are their employees, I suppose, when they are helping deliver profits, and they're on their own, when it looks like they won't be able to.

Yes, the next round of give-me-what-I-want has kicked off. Now, who is going to rise to the challenge? Who's going to make the necessary sacrifice? We know who isn't, so now it's up to either government or potential employees to react. Do we have what it takes? I hope not.