Trained personnel and brain drain --- @Bennette, this is really huge problem on the long run. For instance, in the Balkans, the ICT staff and especially senior software developers (working in the private sector) are the ones with highest salaries state-wide (3x or 4x the national average). Yet, again, it is very hard to keep them, especially now after COVID, when the global market is more open and connected. The pattern is evident, it is easy for the most developed EU states to take-over them (mostly Germany, but Netherlands and Scandinavian countries too). They are usually youngsters and therefore are easily motivated to move to foreign countries, to gain experience in bigger companies or even to tele-work from some distant exotic country and enjoy life. I suppose this is similar in most developing countries. In contrast, for ICT staff, to work for the public sector is not attractive at all (due to very low salaries and slow dynamics, not much trainings/education) and the ICT personnel in public sector are usually older loyal ICT staff, computer engineers who have been working for the institutions for many years. I think the public sector will have huge problems with finding new ICT personnel in few years time.

Source author: Vladimir Nikolov vladimir984@yahoo.com