On Wednesday, September 5, the conference “Where Is the IT Market Headed?” was held as part of the launch of the 7th edition of the ICT Job Fair. During the conference, a distinguished panel of experts from academia and the business world presented trends and expectations regarding human talent in the IT sector.
Marcela Varela, Head of Administration and Finance at SONDA Uruguay and a member of the Human Resources Committee of the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology, moderated the panel and introduced the speakers.
Mario Fernández, Dean of the School of Engineering at Universidad ORT Uruguay, openedthe series of presentations by stating that “we have become an expensive country,” noting that the software industry continues to sell services, which requires a certain number of professionals capable of providing those services. In an industry with zero unemployment, this reality makes the services provided very expensive. In this regard, he outlined the problems and challenges facing the university: “700 people a year are trained in ICT; 30% graduate from technical programs, and 33% from university programs.” Fernández believes there aren’t more graduates because people don’t perceive that earning a degree will lead to better job opportunities and higher income.
He also noted that the challenge lies not only in motivating students to graduate, but also in ensuring that graduates choose to pursue graduate studies, both academic and professional.
Enrique Topolansky, Coordinator of ORT’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), presented the support services the university offers to businesses through the CIE. He summarized this area as “the university at the service of,” referring to an academic institution that engages with the community, offers applied knowledge, and implements a teaching methodology that motivates students to identify opportunities.
The CIE aims to bridge the needs of the academic and socio-productive sectors to create opportunities and innovation projects. It also supports the university in helping students develop thesoft skillsnecessary to foster an entrepreneurial mindset.
Jorge Vidart, Vice President of Human Capital at CUTI and CEO of TILSOR, highlightedthe importance of training as a fundamental aspect of human capital development and organizational growth.
Drawing on his experience and insight into the IT market, he offered some advice to those pursuing a career in that field:
· Continue on to graduate school. “A college degree is the gateway to graduate school.”
· “Don’t spend your whole life just programming,” he said, noting that professionals should get involved in other areas of the industry.
· “Work on your ingenuity,” referring to the training of engineers.
· “Travel abroad as much as possible.” According to Vidart, experiencing other cultures enriches you and opens up new opportunities.
Martín Naor, Infocorp’s head of marketing, noted that the company is closely aligned with ORT’s vision of fostering an entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, Infocorp has collaborated with the university on various projects developed by students, which have led to the creation of new companies.
Naor clarified that finding the best solutions does not always come from creating new companies, but also involves relying on intrapreneurs—people who work with a positive attitude to develop better solutions from within the company itself. Infocorp emphasizes the need for people to build their careers within the company, and in this regard, they recognize that training and completing one’s education are fundamental factors.
Nicolás Amarelle is the CEO and founder of Código del Sur, a young Uruguayan company that has managed to export 100% of its work. For Amarelle, the most important factors when hiring people are the passion and attitude each individual demonstrates: “They should work with the mindset that the company is their own, and see themselves as the operations manager of the company’s U.S. office in a few years’ time.” “Obviously, we love people with master’s degrees; we have a few on the team,” he said, but there’s no doubt that attitude is key. According to the employees themselves, what they value most about the company’s support for their continued professional development and growth is the flexible schedule, the training, and the constant sharing of the knowledge the company generates.
Leonardo Silveira is the CEO and founder of WooW. In his presentation, he discussed entrepreneurship as a career path that requires “a lot of hard work and a lot of study.”
Leonardo graduated with honors from ORT with a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Administration, which is why he considers education to be very important. The entrepreneur also emphasized the importance of attitude when hiring someone to work. He spoke of entrepreneurship as an opportunity to start enjoying work, even when the workday is 12 hours long. He encouraged those interested in starting a business by saying that money and opportunities are plentiful; all that’s missing are good ideas and entrepreneurs who say, “I’ve studied this extensively, I have the ability to do it, and I’m going to work as hard as it takes to make it happen.”