DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOCAL ICT INDUSTRY-

The long climb

Carl Francis

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Small

and Micro Enterprise Development.

ICT the Context• The Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs)

spell out the levels of development

countries are to aim for by 2015. • A post 2015 Development Agenda

is at present engaging the attention of the global community

• The role of ICTs in developing these 8 MDGs is clear. T&T cannot fail to act accordingly

ICT the ContextThe Eight (8) MDGs

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger• Achieve universal primary school education• Promote gender equality and empower

women• Reduce child mortality

• Improve maternal health• Combat HIV and AIDS Malaria and other

diseases• Ensure environmental sustainability

• Develop a global partnership for development

ICT -The MDG Context The MDG response for ICT-Calls

made for:• Strengthening public-private

partnerships in order to close the large gaps that remain in access to and affordability of information and communications technology across countries and income groups, including by upgrading the quality and quantity of existing telecommunication infrastructure,

ICT -The MDG Context particularly in the least developed

countries, to support more modern information and communications technology applications and greatly increase connectivity, access and investment in innovation and development and the effective use of innovative information and communications technology applications and e-governance tools.

ICT -The MDG Context

Promoting the strategic role of science and technology, including information technology and innovation in areas relevant for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular agricultural productivity, water management and sanitation, energy security and public health

Where is T&T?• Not where we should be!• Indeed even the focus on ICT in

the Millennium Development Goals

is insufficient. This should have been a goal in its own right and not just a facilitator of the 8 goals agreed upon. Moreover as a facilitator it should have been identified in each goal.

• What can we do to improve?

Where is T&T?

• The use of ICT by the business community must evolve exponentially. The C is covered partially by cell phone technology but the IT must not be confined to payroll and HR usage as it is in many cases.

• The public sector too needs IT re-engineering

What are we up against?• Changes in trading patterns have

resulted in an increased demand for global talent.

• “Tectonic market shifts are transforming the global business landscape”

• Employers are demanding new skills from their employees, yet often find they are in short supply.

• ILO: 40 million workers in the industrialized world are unemployed.

• Managers are tasked with hiring new workers often say they are unable to find the right people with the proper skills to fill their vacancies.

What are we up against?

The sources from which talent might be recruited are also realigning.

More talent is being “home grown” in the developing world,

Forecast: over the next decade, new and sometimes unlikely regions of the world will

generate a surplus of talent. Other regions- like the US and much of

Europe- will confront the need to undertake a critical “reskilling” of labour to meet the new

demands of a highly digitized and interconnected world where higher skill sets

will be required.

Study by Oxford Economics released this year shows:

What are we up against?

• The study projected four broad areas where skills will be in greatest demand:

1. Digital skills: due to a fast-growing digital economy

2. Agile thinking: for safeguarding against economic, political, and market shocks

3. Interpersonal and communication skills: as a result of paradigm shifts in management techniques

4. Global operating skills: globalisation and expanding markets warrant global ready employees

Solutions?

• Investment in human capital development

• Skills training and re-training• Education and science and

technology policies• Policy coherence• Greater collaboration, sharing of

experiences, reaping economies created by joint action/policies.

• Refocusing of educational needs in line with forecasts

We need to re-think and re-order

Solutions

• We need to replicate all efforts at transformation of the business environment.

• The ease of doing business must be enhanced if we are to make any impact

• The role of ICTs in this regard is paramount.

• The climb up must be shortened

Thank You