IT companies including HP, Telefonica, Nokia, Cisco, ARM and SAP have entered into a deal with the European Commission to fill IT 700,000 jobs within Europe.

The companies will offer free training and start-up funding in a bid to fill the vacancies. The scheme is designed to stimulate the European IT industry, a key element to stimulating EU growth.

"The digital skills gap is growing, like our unemployment queues. We need joint action between governments and companies to bridge that gap" said EC vice president Neelie Kroes.