Countries in Latin America are seeing an increased demand for employers who have received training in communication and information technologies, such as IP telephony. So much so, in fact, that a study has predicted that demand will surpass supply by as much as 35 per cent in 2015.
The study, which was given the name ‘Networking Skills in Latin America’, was conducted by independent consultant IDC for Cisco. It said that in 2011, the region suffered from a lack of 139,800 workers who had received training in support and management, design, network planning and communication and information technologies.
Senior director of architecture and engineering from Cisco Latin America, Mauricio Carrilo, told Efe:
“The gap in 2011 between supply and demand was 27 per cent and will grow to 35 per cent if we don’t take action now.”
IDC interviewed 767 people at firms with over 100 workers in Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina.
The research revealed a lack of 76,800 workers with a basic know-how in networking technologies, such as IP networking and IP telephony skills and wireless networking and security skills.
Cisco’s Latin America Theatre president, Jordi Botifoll, says that the numbers should act as a wake-up call for production to increase.
“Governments and the private sector must join forces and respond and understand that without people in their countries trained in what the market demands, productivity won’t grow as much as desired.”
The projected lack of trained workers is anticipated to be 129,100 in 2015, or 44 per cent of the gap in total.
With a number of Latin American countries seeing their economies grow steadily, such as Brazil, a lack of skilled workers in such an important area would undoubtedly be a hindrance.
