Every year in Ukraine the demand for specialists in the IT industry grows. According to a survey by BRDO, an independent think tank established at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and with the financial support of international donors, the number of IT graduates in the country in 2024 will be more than 20 thousand people. Compared to 2020, it is 23% more.
Of course, there are different scenarios and growth rates of new IT professionals, but the demand for such professionals in Ukraine is already 30-50 thousand people each year.
If the forecast of active growth comes true, the share of students in this field will grow at the current rate to 16.1 percent in 2026. Then in 2030 we can expect up to 37 thousand new professionals.
Of course, there is a more restrained scenario, if the percentage of entrants is at the same level as now – it is 12 percent. In 2030, 27.8 thousand young talents are expected to graduate here. In this case, it is possible to achieve graduate growth only through demographic change.
In the most pessimistic version, entrants to the IT field will be much less, up to 10 percent in 2026. Under this scenario, 2030 will bring only 23.2 thousand young experts.
Thus, it can be concluded that higher education in the field of IT today cannot provide the required number of specialists, but this can be achieved in the future. Of course, there is also non-formal education, such as retraining, attracting specialists from other fields, which undoubtedly play an important role in the growth of human capital in the IT industry.