Youngest panelist at British High Commission Talk!

The British High Commission gathered industry leaders for a roundtable discussion on the challenges and solutions that can be worked together in collaboration with BCS, the chartered institute of IT. The aim is to create skilled resources for the country for the IT sector in Pakistan. I being the youngest panelist shared my thoughts about the IT skills gap and its impact on the youth of Pakistan.

The "IT Skills Gap" is caused in part by the dizzying pace of technological progress. Simply explained, an IT skills gap develops when the demand for a certain IT job type outnumbers the supply of certified and trained experts. There are several forms of skill shortages that might negatively impact a company's success.

The first, and most typical, the problem is a scarcity of qualified candidates for new positions. Cyber security analysts, supply chain technicians, robotics consultants, and big data analytics experts are examples of such professionals. The number of new occupations created as a result of fast-advancing technologies is increasing. Because these new positions didn't exist until recently, there isn't a ready pool of qualified candidates to pull from. In fact, the required abilities are still being defined, and the number of training programs accessible is restricted. Companies that rely on these professions to be filled will have to either create their own talent or find methods to work effectively with schools to design curriculums that will generate graduates qualified for these new occupations. On the other side, experienced applicants are in limited supply to fill professional positions such as technical sales reps, maintenance technicians, skilled tradespeople, accountants, IT systems engineers, and nurses, to name a few.

This is where the skills gap is most noticeable. Many businesses are currently suffering from a lack of qualified individuals with some work experience, despite the fact that the effects are frequently difficult to quantify. Moreover, the availability of everyone to have every skill set is also creating the Skill Gap. The understanding of why you need to get this skill set and what are your future plans is still a question mark for many students. Free courses to attract youth are undoubtedly a great initiative but nothing is for free. There is time and energy commitment and continuous effort which most of the students are not considering. And taking the initiatives for granted. This behavior actually takes the chance of the deserving students which again contributes to the Skill Gap.

Many organizations could develop quicker today, on the off chance that they could simply track down the ability to fill key jobs. The "Skill Gap" has turned into a generally perceived peculiarity. However, similar to any issue, it should be precisely characterized to be addressed actually.