Will Latin America’s tech talent shortage continue in 2023?

As the digitization of companies becomes a priority in Latin America, the demand for tech talent is growing, but will 2023 continue to be a time of tech talent shortage?

For the CEO of the technology education startup Colectivo23, Cristina Elías, there is “a huge digital talent gap in Latin America”.

The entrepreneur recognizes that when talking about education, there are gaps of all kinds, but one of the most notorious at present is that of technological training.

In 2021 a survey published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in its book ‘Digital Transformation and Public Employment’ indicated that out of 718 Latin American public managers, 64% stated that their technology project had suffered difficulties due to a lack of skills of the responsible personnel.

Likewise, 51% acknowledged having a severe skills deficit in data analysis, while 40% identified a lack of preparation around the topics of programming and software development.

Companies are demanding professionals with knowledge of new technologies, and professionals need training in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru.

In 2022, a study on emerging technologies in Latin America, conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services in partnership with NTT DATA, revealed that despite their intentions to digitize, 73% of executives said that talent was the biggest barrier.

Particularly in Mexico, at the close of 2022, 57% of companies were expanding their technology workforce, according to a study by Experis Mexico, a company specializing in talent searching.

However, 68% reported having difficulty finding the tech talent they were looking for, Carlos Bueso, director of Experis Mexico, told Bloomberg Línea.

By the first quarter of 2023, Bueso said, “explosive technological growth” will continue, and this time, “technological positions will be more sophisticated or specialized, requiring a deeper knowledge of technological platforms, making hiring dynamics more difficult.”

The tech talent deficit will continue in Latin America in 2023.

Elias told Bloomberg Línea that there is currently a great need for UX designers, experience designers, interface designers, and product owners who have a good command of technology and manage the technological equipment and digital product indicators.

The CEO of the competence training company for digital business, Bedu, Moís Cherem, believes three major opportunities exist to develop tech talent in the region.

The first has to do with the digital transformation process that was generated from the pandemic by large corporations; the second is remote work, which allows access to opportunities with global companies, and the third is in the startup sector that needs to grow to scale, although for the moment there is some contraction, Cherem said.

HOW TO FIND AND RETAIN TECH TALENT?

Competition for tech talent is accelerating as more professionals are needed to sustain the digitization of Latin America, with the region’s tech market growing by 9.4% by the end of 2022, according to data compiled by IDC.

Many companies have turned to startups that connect tech talent with demand to address the talent shortage, such as the Peruvian Talently or the US-based Howdy and the unicorn Turing.

However, large corporates can do much more.

“It’s very important if you’re a company to have a more proactive role in training your talent,” Cherem says.

“If you are a company and you are looking for software quality assurance experts, then generate a training program, attract people with a set of initial competencies, and through a competitive process pick the best,” exemplifies Bedu’s CEO.

Once you have managed to get the necessary tech talent, you must retain it.

“You have to understand that digital talent is mainly young and prefer the concept of hybrid work and, in addition, it is a profile that seeks challenges a lot,” said Elias.

“Understand very well the talent you are looking for and what are the things that generate value for them,” advises the CEO of Colectivo23.

The technology talent expert believes that in Latin America, “we are seen as one of the most backward regions not only in digital transformation, but in productivity, so therein lies the gap.”

However, Latin America can turn around the shortage of tech talent in 2023 through more training.

“We should be those catalysts for Latin America to be the hotbed of digital talent for the world and for us to become increasingly competitive in the type of talent,” he concludes.

With information from Bloomberg

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