The Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (Cuti) presented to the Minister of Economy and Finance, Danilo Astori, and the Undersecretary Pablo Ferreri, a proposal to generate a specific program to train personnel for the sector within the framework of the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Inefop). The project, which involves allocating US$ 4 million for this specific purpose, was well received by the government representatives.
"We don't want to take that money, but to direct it to the resources we need to form, using the instruments and institutions that already exist," said Álvaro Lamé, president of Cuti. Both Astori and Ferreri were interested and open to support the idea. " Inefop is for that," responded the minister, and the undersecretary added that "it would be good for Inefop to bet on this program.
The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector has zero unemployment and has been growing steadily for more than a decade. According to Lamé, development has not been greater due to a lack of personnel. The ICT industry is willing to contribute US$ 1 million to the educational program, which will be integrated into the existing "I study and work" program, he said. "We need trained people and we have to do something about it," he said.
The proposal is based on working with the various actors in the education sector, with special emphasis on the Technological University (UTEC), to which Cuti offers to provide teachers. Leonardo Loureiro, a member of the Chamber's board of directors, pointed out that "with 1,500 students being trained at UTEC each year, the industry would grow 10% in two years". In this sense, Lamé pointed out that one person trained for the sector allows the industry to bill US$ 60,000 dollars a year.
"We seek the confidence of the different government actors to execute and we are the ones who know best the needs of the sector," Lamé summarized before the hierarchs of the Ministry of Economy, who highlighted the importance of this industry for the country.
On the other hand, Cuti presented the various strategies he is working on for the growth of the sector, among which he listed the development of new ventures and the formation of companies, the promotion of continuous innovation, business development and the creation of an accelerator, in addition to the promotion of the internationalization of companies, the creation of a teleworking law and the search for new financing instruments.
Lamé suggested the government grant tax benefits to companies that invest in software or in a technological renovation of their systems. "We are not asking for benefits for our sector, but for those who bet," he said.
At the meeting, he presented some preliminary results of the Cuti Annual Survey 2015, which reflects the overall results of the sector. "Last year, compared to 2015, we grew only 7%," said the president of the Chamber and reported that exports remained stable, at US$ 277 million, while sales to the domestic market grew.
The sector's turnover increased 6.5% and stood at US$ 1,068 million in 2015. It is made up of US$ 277 million in exports: US$ 211 from local companies (-6.6% compared to 2014) and US$ 66 million from subsidiaries and partners. Added to this is US$ 791 million in sales to the domestic market, which increased by 9% compared to the previous year.
According to the survey, the United States continues to be the main market for exports of Cuti's partners, which are divided in half between products and services. The Brazilian market, meanwhile, had a 15% drop.
"This is one of the sectors that best assimilated the economic slowdown, not only because of its continuous growth, but also because of the value-added contribution it makes to different sectors of the national economy," said Astori at the end of the meeting. "From the government we not only agree with your diagnosis, but we will support your objectives," he concluded.
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