We live in a time when all aspects of our lives are undergoing a digital transformation, from education to entertainment – and perhaps most prominently at work. Digital technologies are contributing more and more to the socio-economic development of countries worldwide. But to fully exploit their transformative potential, digital skills must be cultivated at all levels – from the local to the national. Meeting this challenge involves qualifying and quantifying digital skills gaps in each country. The experience of Qatar may be instructive to other nations facing similar challenges, writes KHAWAR IQBAL.
The vision
The State of Qatar is striving to improve the quality of life of its citizens by building a collaborative information and communication technology (ICT) ecosystem. In this context, digital skills development is key to driving the adoption of digital technologies in several areas.
Designing an effective national digital skills strategy involves setting the right goals to address specific needs.
To this end, the State of Qatar applied a “human intelligence planning and optimization approach” developed by consultancy Roland Berger, which prompts policymakers and organizational leaders to answer critical questions about the future labour market.
Specifically, project leaders undertook four key steps:
Set a baseline by analysing the current state of the workforce
Run forecasting models to project workforce demand and supply over a certain time frame
Conduct a gap analysis to assess the mismatch between demand for and supply of the workforce, including critical digital skills, on a year-to-year basis
Set recommendations by identifying skill development needs in the workforce at a granular level.
The results of this process are meant to help leaders better understand what digital skills will be needed in the future.
Overcoming challenges
Another vital aspect of an effective national digital skills strategy is a solid understanding of the critical challenges faced by the workforce.
For example, Qatar is highly dependent on an influx of expatriate workers. Its national digital skills strategy must therefore reflect the dynamics of a multinational labour market.
Human talent development must also keep pace with economic transformation. The shift from traditional to technology-driven, solution-oriented business models in sectors such as healthcare, education, or logistics will see the emergence of completely new job profiles requiring advanced digital skillsets.
Critically, Qatar is expected to see emerging skill gaps over the next 10 years in highly-skilled job profiles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially in the environmental, energy and manufacturing sectors.
The analysis by the State of Qatar also revealed a need to develop skills in data science, robotics, and cybersecurity, as well as a need for improvement in the use of administrative software and collaborative platforms.
The way forward
In response to these challenges, several initiatives have been launched in Qatar to raise awareness and actively support digital skills development within the current and future workforce.
One such initiative is the Common Digital Skills Framework which sets a national standard for digital skills needed within the Qatari workforce.
Another initiative is the Tasmu Center of Excellence, which aims to reduce the digital skills gap in the Qatari labour market by training youth, among other strategic objectives.
In addition to these initiatives, service providers in the field of skills development and education need to rethink their role in a lifelong learning pathway. Adapted from the article ‘Tasmu Smart Qatar – Digital skills as a pillar for transformation’ by Khawar Iqbal and Frederick Van Gysegem.
Ericsson and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) renew collaboration to drive change through technology and education
The renewed collaboration extends support to Youth Peacemakers and Community Learning Centers in South Africa.
The collaboration aims to support existing WPDI programmes and to expand the Ericsson and WPDI partnership to cover new locations.
Ericsson and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) have renewed their collaboration by expanding their joint efforts to promote peace and development through education to Youth Peacemakers and Community Learning Centers (CLCs) in South Africa.
The collaboration aims at further supporting existing programmes and the expansion of the Ericsson and WPDI partnership to cover new locations in order to strengthen WPDI’s capacity to mobilize Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to achieve its objectives.
WPDI provides peacebuilding training to youth affected by conflict and violence in order to foster safer and more-productive communities. The long-term goal is to empower young women and men in these regions as peace leaders, community builders and global citizens through certified education and training programmes.
WPDI’s approach begins with training in mediation and conflict transformation before shifting focus to developing life skills and vocational skills in ICT and entrepreneurship. Many participants begin the programme without ever seeing a computer and lack basic digital skills. As the technology partner to WPDI, Ericsson provides ICT equipment for the CLCs and delivers training programmes focused on the development of digital skills for the youth, based on its Connect To Learn flagship education programme.
As part of the collaboration, Ericsson and WDPI will also explore the opportunity of deploying the Ericsson Digital Lab, an education programme for children aged 11-16 years, to inspire the children to explore new technologies and develop their problem-solving skills.
Executive Director of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), Caroline Descombris says: “We work with young men and women to develop their skills as leaders, as peacebuilders, and as community builders. WPDI mobilizes ICT as a mean to foster peace and sustainable development in communities. Ericsson has been a strategic partner of WPDI since the inception of our programs. This new collaboration with Ericsson demonstrates the power of partnerships to bring young people together to bridge the digital divide, thereby driving change through the education of, and use of, ICT.”
Vice President and Head of Marketing, Communications and Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson Middle East and Africa Fida Kibbi says: “Many communities have limited or no access to devices, connectivity or ICT training, and education, which widens the digital divide. Technology access can empower the youth of these communities to be leaders and change-makers, helping build more peaceful societies and contributing to social upliftment. Ericsson and WPDI are joining forces and working together to make a difference at grassroots level through the use of Information and Communications Technology. We aim to extend our work to more countries and Community Learning Centers in Africa to bridge the digital divide and keep #AfricaInMotion.”
Access to information and knowledge is critical to help local people improve their socio-economic prospects and develop solutions for the sustainable development of their communities. By enhancing people’s access to ICT, and their ICT literacy levels and skills, this can foster safer and more productive communities. Beneficiaries’ job prospects, ability to generate incomes, and economic positions can be improved.
- Iqbal is Director, Digital Society at Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Frederick Van Gysegem, Partner at Roland Berger.
