There is a shortage of 315,000 AI experts: here’s where businesses are finding it hardest to recruit them
At a regional level, Lombardy tops the regional rankings in terms of both volume and the absolute difficulty of recruitment: 60,960 unfilled vacancies out of 121,440 vacancies (50.2 per cent)
by the Rome Editorial Staff
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Key points
Of the 621,180 workers with advanced digital skills required by Italian businesses in 2025, 315,560 were found to be difficult to recruit: 50.8 per cent of the total. This is the key finding of a survey by the Confartigianato Research Department, which reveals that 71.8 per cent of businesses have invested in at least one of the technological areas monitored – artificial intelligence, cloud computing, the Industrial Internet of Things, data analytics and big data, virtual and augmented reality, and blockchain – with this proportion rising to 73.4 per cent in the services sector and standing at 70.8 per cent across manufacturing, utilities and construction.
More than 60,000 people in Lombardy cannot be traced
At a regional level, Lombardy tops the regional rankings in terms of both volume and the absolute difficulty of recruitment: 60,960 unfilled vacancies out of 121,440 vacancies (50.2 per cent). This is followed by Campania (31,130 out of 66,950, 46.5 per cent), Lazio (30,780 out of 66,760, 46.1 per cent), Veneto (26,030 out of 47,150, 55.2 per cent) and Emilia-Romagna (25,640 out of 45,700, 56.1 per cent).
The highest percentages are in Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia
In percentage terms, however, it is Trentino-Alto Adige (60.9 per cent), Umbria (60.7 per cent) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (58.3 per cent) that are experiencing the greatest imbalances between supply and demand, a sign that recruitment difficulties are not limited to major industrial centres.
The situation by province
Among the provinces, Milan remains in first place for the absolute number of unfilled vacancies, with 29,840 out of 64,320 vacancies (46.4 per cent), ahead of Rome (24,580 out of 55,240, 44.5 per cent), Naples (16,200 out of 36,010, 45 per cent), Bari (9,300 out of 19,830, 46.9 per cent) and Turin (9,050 out of 17,950, 50.4 per cent). In terms of recruitment difficulty rates, Trento recorded the highest figure among the provinces surveyed, with 64.2 per cent of the 4,920 positions sought proving unfillable, followed by Padua and Treviso, both at 59.9 per cent.
‘We need people capable of managing AI’
“Artificial intelligence can become a powerful driver of productivity and competitiveness,” according to Marco Granelli, president of Confartigianato, “but to capitalise on these opportunities, we need people capable of managing it.” Granelli highlighted the need to strengthen training and the links between schools, universities, the education system and businesses, thereby ensuring that micro and small enterprises also have access to the necessary skills.
