However, the rapidly growing ICT industry faces an undeniable challenge: a shortage of high-quality talent. According to the World Bank forecast, there will be a global ICT talent gap of 10 million by 2027.
ICT infrastructure providers and operators will play an increasingly important role in leading the development of the future digital economy. Continuous innovation and rapid industry development have accelerated this transformation process, unleashing and driving new economic models.
The global digital economy is developing rapidly, it is estimated that more than 50% of global GDP will be digitized by 2022. Many countries and regions, including some in the Latin American and Caribbean region, have announced large investments to create and upgrade their digital infrastructure (connectivity infrastructure and computing power); In addition, cloud-based applications have grown significantly reaching historic levels of adoption.
According to Frost & Sullivan, Mexico is the second largest Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market in Latin America, behind Brazil. Cloud services market adoption is expected to grow from $6.3 to $27 billion over the next five years.
In the age of the Internet of Everything (IoE), no one should be left behind; Alliances and ecosystems are needed to rapidly develop emerging ICT talent. National digital strategy implementations, university research, industry development, business operations and in general, any economic unit are desperate for ICT elites.
In the next two to three decades, technological development will establish a smart world where everything will be monitored, connected and intelligent, but before that can happen, the ICT industry requires high-quality talent with innovative ideas and technological capabilities. The future of the industry will be fueled by these new talents, and those with cross-disciplinary skills will be more sought after by companies large and small alike.
Talent development is challenging and time consuming. It takes both dedication and heavy investment to build a talent ecosystem that can thrive. How to catch up in terms of digital growth is an important development question for all stakeholders. Digital talent may well be the answer or at least a good first step: they are the foundation of the new digital economy.
Deep collaboration between stakeholders (government, international organizations, academia and business) to address the challenges of ICT talent development is key, each has a very important role to play. Universities and colleges are directly training and educating the leaders and most important part of the workforce of our future.
Companies are hiring and at the same time shaping the younger generation. Government authorities, of course, have a key role in defining policy and promoting best practice.