diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 8b15e764abae0844f7d39fc7b9a5098edbc47c3c..28cb550fa922f3d2a424c1cc8acc417e412d1627 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -54,10 +54,11 @@ pylint:
   allow_failure: true
 
 # run unit tests
-unittest:
+unittest_py3.8:
   tags: [ docker ]
   stage: test
   needs: [ ]
+  image: python:3.8
   script:
     - touch ~/.pycaosdb.ini
     - make unittest