Programming to solve problems: that is the philosophy that Huibert Aalbers, director of Technology at IBM Mexico, maintains, which also permeates young people interested in innovation; however, its scope is not yet that wide and that is part of a crisis that the world of technology is experiencing and will experience: the shortage of talent.
According to data from the , at the end of 2021 there were 26.8 million active software developers in the world. Although experts predict that this figure will reach 45 million in 2030, it may not be enough to meet the needs of digital transformation.
In addition to hiring new members in companies, it is also necessary to proactively train and update existing workers. According to figures from the data analytics firm, , 58% of employees will need new skills to do their job successfully.
Aalbers points out that although many things can be learned from home, due to the large amount of information available on the internet for those passionate about the subject, there are other topics that are not so simple, such as Artificial Intelligence, which requires other types of supplies.
“The theory can be learned there, but if you don’t have data it’s difficult and on the internet the example databases are repeated. They are interesting, but it is difficult to get more out of them”, mentions the specialist.
For this reason, it highlights that companies must collaborate with educational institutions or other efforts, such as the Marathon organized by IBM in Latin America and which has its own series on Prime Video, to formalize technology education, so that students face real problems with completely new data.
“The important thing is not to be the best programmer because it doesn’t even exist”, states Aalbers, “but to learn to quickly adapt to new technologies and know how to apply them to solve real problems. It is about learning capacity, adaptation and creativity which shows the potential of people”.
For the database expert, promoting learning and its updating in technology is as important as law or economics, due to the rapid evolution in which the world finds itself and the various problems that arise in it.
In this regard, Aalbers points out that universities have also realized that their efforts were insufficient and for this reason they are changing their approaches to meet the demand for talent. While some work to increase their capacity and train more people, others are opting for a less theoretical approach to have people ready in less time.
In Mexico, according to data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment 2020, there are about 980,000 people trained in areas related to information and communication technologies; however, more and more companies are seeing the country as a technology hub, so .
“The world is adapting to evolution. There are many efforts, but it is still insufficient. We need more. We must recognize that what we learn today are cycles. They last a short time and people need constant renewal, which is why there is a shortage, coupled with the incorporation of new technologies where there are still no specialists,” he concludes.
