Deep dive: IT specialists

IT specialists
training with practically guaranteed job included

They show up whenever there is an IT issue, develop software, or network devices and machines – IT specialists perform a wide range of different duties. They also enjoy outstanding job prospects: According to a survey by industry association bitkom, in 2023, IT positions were most frequently filled by specialists who had completed an IT training program. More and more employers believe training IT specialists is a good strategy to manage bottlenecks in the IT area. The analysis of 300 job advertisements shows: Specialists will enjoy diverse duties, good opportunities for further development, and plenty of other benefits. However, this is not a career for shy candidates: Employers are looking for IT specialists who can work constructively on a team, think in a structured and analytic way, and explain issues clearly.

IT training programs are trending: In 2022, 70 percent more training contracts were concluded in the IT specialist career field than ten years earlier. It is one of Germany's five most popular training professions. This training area is comparatively young and very diverse. Applicants can choose from four disciplines: System development, application development, digital networking or data and process analysis. 300 job advertisements for IT specialists were analyzed in detail for the DEKRA labor market report. A large percentage of these are directed towards workers specializing in system integration and application development (52.7 and 35.3 %). The sample only includes some job advertisements for the areas of digital networking and data and process analysis. These two disciplines have only existed since 2020, and there are likely only a few graduates at present available on the applicant market with this specialization.

During the survey period, more IT service providers (22.7 %), recruiting firms (14.7 %) and IT companies (11.3 %) were looking for IT specialists. These companies alone made up almost half of the job advertisements in the sample. Currently, there also seems to be elevated demand for IT specialists in public administration (7.3 %). The other open positions were spread over many other industries.

Specializations of IT Specialists