From Silicon Valley to Shanghai, today’s global technology hotbeds demonstrate a direct correlation between the size of the talent ecosystem and the maturity of the local digital economy. As the Middle East region rapidly pursues this formula to power its own digital transformation, the collaboration between universities, government, and industry must be prioritised.
In a recent survey by PwC of CEOs in the Middle East, 70% of business leaders said the shortage of essential digital skills is a business threat. Furthermore, the study showed that none of the top 10 available skills in the GCC is a technical or specific digital skill. A recent G20-Insights paper also notes candidly that “mismatches” in desired digital skills between education and industry pose an ongoing challenge for the future of work.
Thankfully, there’s a ready template that can help guide these thriving partnerships. This is known as the Triple Helix Model. It demonstrates that, in a knowledge-based society, the boundaries between government, private R&D, academia, and industry are increasingly fading. This gives rise to a system of overlapping interactions. Partnerships between these entities can then promote innovation and growth of the ICT talent ecosystem.
Getting started
As part of the region’s post-oil economic growth plan, regional universities have already started to produce highly-talented computer scientists, AI experts, and those in associated professions. It is a commendable feat. Nonetheless, many still lack the practical skills to thrive in the future workplace. This can create a disconnect later on, particularly in the pursuit of jobs in the private sector.
An excellent starting point to resolve this tension is in the collaboration between learning institutions and tech companies to develop courses jointly. Colleges and universities can leverage technology companies’ global expertise, technical accumulation, and build a practical course system that adapts to real-world industry requirements. In addition to their degrees, students then earn certified talent accreditation, meaning that they leave universities more market-ready.
For this approach to be even more effective, it must be based on shared standards and open systems. Closed technology ecosystems often do more harm than good by limiting students’ career development. Not only does it limit their capabilities, but once in the business world, it can later lead their organisation to expensive vendor “lock-ins” because they are simply not familiar with the full breadth of industry offerings. Such constraints limit businesses’ ability to benefit from a dynamic ICT landscape.
Additionally, any talent development strategy should be open-ended and geared towards lifelong learning. Experts point out that the jobs of the next decade have not been invented yet. Ubiquitous connectivity will create new business models that demand entirely new talents and skills. Research also shows that opportunities for development have become a top factor in workplace happiness.
Finally, training should not just focus on equipping graduates with the skills to join the workforce. It should empower them to start their own businesses, if they wish. There’s a booming startup ecosystem in the Middle East that could benefit enormously from entrepreneurial, digital-savvy graduates. Startups in the MENA region attracted more than $1.2bn in funding in H1 2021, a 64% year-on-year growth, according to some estimates. The success of regional unicorns such as noon, souq.com, and Careem shows why an effective talent development policy should deepen and expand this entrepreneurial spirit.
Future potential
What cuts through all of these strategies is the realisation that everyone gains from collaboration.
Education is expensive, after all, and rightly constitutes a sizeable chunk of national budgets. By outsourcing some of the training functions to the private sector, governments can save money that can be allocated to other worthwhile ventures. For enterprises, academic certification reduces the training costs of the future workforce, and delivers a rewarding recruitment and retention value proposition.
ALSO READ: How Huawei is enabling new opportunities for Middle East enterprises to drive innovation
The potential for the Middle East to lead in digital skills empowerment is immense. The Arab world has one of the largest youth populations globally. It includes countries with some of the fastest, most pervasive 5G networks. At Huawei, we remain committed to developing the region’s ICT ecosystem and nurturing local talent through cooperation with governments, universities, and industry organisations, as seen in our currently running Huawei ICT Competition, amongst other programmes. Our Seeds For the Future programme, Huawei ICT Academy, Joint Labs with universities, and the LearnOn programme are other initiatives targeted at nurturing local talent, supporting the region’s governments in building sustainable knowledge-based economies.
Looking ahead to the many initiatives being planned as part of nations’ forthcoming development visions, there will be even more avenues for cross-industry collaboration. Pursuing new partnerships will further stimulate youth’s interest in learning, their innovation capabilities, as well as boosting employment in the coming decades.
