EDITOR’S COMMENT
Grassroot approach required
for creating GCC digital skills
While there is a significant mismatch between the fastest growing job skills
globally and in GCC, a corrective approach starts inside the education sector,
writes Ali Matar at LinkedIn Talent Solutions.
A
ccording to LinkedIn’s Industry
Talent Report from September
2017, employment of information
technology and services industry
professionals in the United Arab Emirates
grew by 9.6% over the past year, with most
professionals taking the leap into this
industry from sectors such as banking,
telecommunications and retail.
While the report says 4,000+ recent
graduates are currently employed in
UAE’s IT industry, it also throws light
on the most sought-after skills that
employers are looking for in candidates.
Management, which also includes team
and business management ranks on the
top, followed by project management and
team leadership skills.
While there has been much speculation
surrounding the challenges of attracting
and retaining great talent in the world of
IT and technology, 61% of professionals,
rank compensation and benefits from
the company as the biggest reason, why
they move within the IT world or new
candidates look for in a job in this sector.
This is followed by the need for a good
work-life balance 52%, strong career path
51%, job security 43% and companies with
a long-term strategic vision.
The MENA region is moving in the
right digital direction, where demand for
the latest and most emerging technologies
like Blockchain will continue to reflect
the profound changes the IT markets are
experiencing. According to research carried
out by LinkedIn and Strategy&, currently
digital jobs account for only 1.7% of the
total GCC workforce, compared to 5.4% of
the total EU’s workforce being employed
Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions,
Emerging Markets, MENA.
in similar roles. In fact, GCC nationals
are mostly employed in sectors at risk of
disruption by new digital technologies.
Only one of the 10 skills that GCC digital
professionals cited matched the fastest-
growing skills globally on the LinkedIn
platform. Although there is a regional trend
towards more technical skills, these remain
scarce for emerging technologies such as
big data and analytics.
The skills showing the highest
growth among GCC digital professionals
are focused on technology sales and
distribution, whereas globally the most
rapidly growing skills relate to product
development. Such a mismatch between
the regional digital job environment and
that of our global peers has its roots in an
underdeveloped digital job market.
The GCC digital job market
faces challenges on both the supply
and demand sides. From a supply
perspective, the GCC education system
does not keep up with technological
changes or provide the adequate level
of information, communication, and
technology ICT education.
In fact, 93% of the region’s digital
professionals on LinkedIn completed their
university education abroad. Also, the
professional development environment is
inadequate. Due to the limited awareness
of what digital careers offer, young
students are reluctant to study in this field
– GCC nationals tending to prefer more
stable jobs in traditional sectors.
In terms of demand, there are low
levels of digitisation in the region – for
example, only 18% of companies use cloud
computing – which restricts employment
opportunities for digital professionals
locally. The GCC’s ICT industry itself is also
underdeveloped and focuses on technology
consumption rather than production.
In order to create a skilled workforce,
GCC countries will need to focus their
efforts on building digital capabilities
within academia by emphasising a
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics approach in schools and
training teachers to use more digital tools
in delivering their curriculum.
To increase the demand for these
jobs, GCC countries should push for
greater digitisation, the aim being to drive
organisations to leverage more emerging
technologies and adopt digital strategies to
transform their business models.
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