With only one year of existence and approximately 160 students, the Technological University's (UTEC) Information Technology degree program opens a light of hope for the birth and development of the ICT industry in the interior of the country and for its boost at the national level.
Although it is not the only option in the country's educational offer, for Monica Silvestri, coordinator of the technical course, UTEC's proposal has a differential, which facilitates access to people from anywhere in the country: the blended learning modality (blended learning). In an interview with El Observador, Silvestri said that 70% of the course content is taught virtually and the rest in person. For the latter, the university uses, through an agreement, the facilities of the Air Force base in Durazno. "The face-to-face classes are approximately once a month. There are also visits to companies" and meetings with the idea that students get to know and make contacts with the industry, he said.
The course lasts two years. Silvestri stressed that once they have graduated, "the opportunities for students are many" because they can join different companies or start their own. Taking into account that many of the students in the course are from the interior of the country, he said that it would be good if some of them "become agents of change" and develop their own business in their place of origin. "That would have a very important impact, since today there are many companies that do not go to the interior because there are no trained people," which puts a ceiling on the growth of the industry, he said.
Álvaro Lamé, president of the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (CUTI), agreed with Silvestri. Speaking to El Observador, he said the lack of trained people is the main challenge facing Uruguay's ICT industry. "If we solve the people issue, we solve 60% or 70% of the industry's problems. Not only for the industry we have today, but also to attract foreign companies to settle in the country," he said.
In this regard, he stressed that the sector has 0% unemployment for many years and there is a desire to carry out new projects, but they are not launched due to the lack of skilled labor. "The industry is generating about 12,000 jobs and what is happening is that companies are taking people from each other because there is no other option.
He also indicated that the shortage of talent leads companies to take young students, who eventually end up dropping out of school, so there are 70% of students who do not graduate.
In fact, according to figures from the Ministry of Education and Culture yearbook, while in 2014 1,295 students entered the various university options for ICT (Universidad de la República, ORT, Universidad Católica, Universidad de Montevideo and Universidad de la Empresa), the level of graduates was 378. In the technologist training offered by UTU, 223 students entered that same year and only 16 graduated.
Lamé pointed out that if a critical mass of trained people distributed throughout the country is created, more foreign companies would come to settle in the country. He stressed that Uruguay has comparative advantages that would help it become a good destination for them. Among the strengths he mentioned the Ceibal Plan, broadband and the high use of internet for laboratory studies.
Source: The Observer
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