Companies in Peru look for digital profiles and claim that the offer is insufficient; meanwhile, people not only lack the necessary skills, but also do not know how to train themselves to meet this demand.

Last week, during the Eighth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, the digital agenda for the region (eLAC2024) was approved in Montevideo (Uruguay), which establishes a set of policy priorities and actions for the next two years.

The eLAC2024 gathers 31 objectives in four axes. The first is linked to infrastructure, connectivity, the development of skills and competencies.

The second is related to the digital economy, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, while the third incorporates the themes of inclusion and the digital transformation of the State. While the fourth axis is oriented to the generation of new alliances and contemplates actions related to commercial integration, the regional digital market and cooperation.

Productivity

“Digital technologies are essential instruments to boost the productivity and growth of countries and have significant effects in various critical areas for development such as health, education and government services, the countries recognize,” the countries highlighted at that meeting. representatives of the countries of the region.

According to the World Bank (WB), the adoption of technology by companies, together with complementary investments in digital skills, organizational capital and other types of intangible capital, can improve competitiveness and lead to productivity growth.

“Entrepreneurship in digitally intensive sectors can help foster innovation, create new markets and help spread the benefits of the digital economy to other sectors. In the same way, digital financial services can promote more efficient and convenient payments, a cornerstone for the development of electronic commerce and business models based on digital platforms”, the multilateral entity specified.

Widespread adoption of digital technologies can foster inclusion and reduce vulnerability through multiple channels. In this context, the person in charge of Digital Products, Employability and Educational Innovation at Fundación Telefónica, Carmen López, told the Economic Supplement of the newspaper El Peruano that the world is going through a digital transformation situation in which there are a large number of unemployed or at risk of being so, a situation that accelerated after the pandemic.

Currently, companies are looking for digital profiles and claim that the offer is still insufficient.

digital profiles

In Peru, for example, since the pandemic, the demand for digital profiles has increased between 50% and 60%, according to PageGroup.

“The demand is so great that companies cannot find those profiles. In the country, eight out of ten companies say they have problems filling these digital positions,” said the executive.

In the case of the offer, he specified that, according to the ManpowerGroup survey, in Latin America 75% of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 have difficulties finding a job, according to the report ‘Shortage of job opportunities for young people 2022’ from ManpowerGroup.

“There is a dichotomy in the market, in which many job seekers cannot find it and various companies that require specific profiles cannot meet their demand either. The issue is that people not only lack the necessary skills to fill these positions, but they also do not know how they can prepare for this application”, stated López.

A significant percentage of people are aware that there are changes in the world of work, but they are not oriented on how to prepare for what companies are demanding.

She affirmed that in Peru and the world there is a digital employment gap that can be reduced with the use of these virtual tools that, free of charge, guide people to prepare to be more employable, more competitive in the digital world.

80% of the top companies in the country have had difficulties filling their digital vacancies, according to a survey by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Similarly, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal) assured that 30% of the country’s population has basic digital skills and only 10% have advanced skills.

Tools

The pandemic put everyone on the same level, in terms of digital training. While some countries were further along on the subject of digital transformation, all had the need to move quickly towards this new reality.

Using big data and artificial intelligence, these gaps between people who have the digital skills and those who do not can be reduced. Given this situation, Fundación Telefónica made available the Skills Map and the Virtual Professional Counselor, two free tools that will be a guide and mentor in the search for a job.

“Anyone can acquire these skills, lose fear and approach the digital world,” López added.

Source: The Peruvian