Bridging the digital divide

The future of global prosperity depends not just on technology—but on the people trained to power it.

- MEHDI PARYAVI, INTERNATIONAL DATA CENTER AUTHORITY

As the world begins to uncover the benefits of the digital era, various social and economic challenges have started emerging. These are challenges that, if properly addressed, can unleash great opportunities for humanity on a scale never imagined. Exponential economic development, elevated standards of living, fair trade, and global transparency are some of the numerous intrinsic benefits of a progressive and evolving global digital economy. In the midst of this, the challenge of human capital remains a focal gap in realizing the promise of digital economy prosperity.

IDCA research has projected a need for about 100 million new ICT-related jobs over the next few years, as AI spurs the need for vast new data center initiatives in every region of the world. With the world’s largest population, India has the world’s greatest need for new ICT-related employment, even with its reputation as a tech innovator and as the world’s BPO leader. In fact, IDCA finds that 25 per cent of the world’s tech workforce deficit must be addressed by India. That’s one in four of the new jobs, a total of around 25 million.

China also faces a substantial deficit, on the order of 17 million jobs. Other large countries with daunting ICT workforce deficits include:

• Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan (5 million each),

• Bangladesh, Brazil, and Ethiopia (3 million each),

• the Philippines (2 million),

• Egypt, Tanzania, and Vietnam (1.7 million each),

• Mexico (1.4 million),

• Kenya and Uganda (1.1 million each),

• South Africa and Thailand (900,000 each).