(Expansión) – In Mexico there are many entrepreneurs and companies that day after day desperately look for programmers to work within their projects and companies. However, finding them is not an easy task: programmers are in short supply.
Today the country is experiencing the highest level of difficulty in filling vacancies in the last 15 years. According to the ManpowerGroup ‘Talent Shortage’ survey, 69% of companies worldwide report talent shortages. This is because technical and professional skills are harder to find.
Certainly, the digital acceleration caused to a large extent by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lack of talent specialized in information technology (IT) in our country to have . It becomes a huge problem, since without a sufficient supply of trained and updated programmers in the latest technologies, we will have a lag in the development of technology and innovation.
So, faced with this panorama, what measures to take? First of all, the first thing is to recognize in a national and business way that technological development and innovation is the fastest and most direct route for economic generation. The first thing that must be done is joint work between the Government and the business sector: create educational programs that democratize learning in programming and engineering.
Secondly, precisely, we must start from the educational base with the youngest. According to the firm Evans Data Corporation , less than 1% of the world’s population knows how to program and this today represents a matter of state in many countries. However, there are already more than 20 that include programming throughout the entire compulsory curriculum. Mexico must also begin to do so.
We must not forget that children can start programming simple functions as early as six years old. Therefore, public participation dynamics can be created where programmers can express their creativity and propose solutions for companies and government.
It should be noted that, according to the latest Report on the Future of Employment of the World Economic Forum, released in October 2020, it is estimated that 150 million new technological jobs will be generated in the world during the next five years.
Regarding areas of greater migration, they place emphasis on jobs related to Product and Data Development and Artificial Intelligence that will be in constant evolution within the labor market. In addition, it is a market of permanent change, so if employees are able to develop the ability to learn permanently, with a flexible work attitude that adapts to these changes, these areas will represent a great opportunity.
For all this, it is vitally important to evangelize programming and engineering careers, since these are going to be the ones that provide us with the human capital and talent to supply human resources globally to technology companies, and also to develop innovation in our country. .
We must generate a paradigm shift so that the new generations see programming as a life option, a career with a job opportunity, in order to satisfy the need for developers in the midst of the rapid advancement of technology throughout the world.
It is important to recognize that the software industry is the oil in the engine to keep any economy going. And Mexico, without a doubt, is a country with a lot of great talent, we just have to stimulate it, take care of it, and fill it with confidence so that it bears fruit in the medium and long term.
Editor’s note: Hugo Cen is Founder of Ai Lab School – Online School of Artificial Intelligence programming, Co-founder of Digital Lab Agency binational digital marketing agency, Director of the organizing committee of Hackity the League of programmers in Mexico. He actively organizes hackathons and community events to develop the talent of Mexican programmers. Follow him on , and/or on . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
