"We want students to see industry and academia as a unit, a continuity between education and work," said Álvaro Lamé, president of the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (Cuti), on the occasion of the visit of a delegation from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Republic, led by its dean, engineer María Simon.
At the meeting, Aníbal Gonda, vice-president of Cuti's Human Capital Commission and member of the Board of Directors, presented the training ideas promoted by the Chamber and called for strengthening the links between both parties. His presentation was based on the program called b_IT, which aims to train 4,000 technicians in four years, through a project financed with US$ 4,000,000 from the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Inefop) and US$ 1,000,000 contributed by the industry.
The initiative also plans to provide a first work experience of at least eight months to graduates, through the program "I study and work in ICT". To define which specialties, careers or courses to allocate the funds to, the aim is to create an observatory in which academia and industry share their concerns and needs and, based on this, plan the best strategy.
Cuti authorities emphasized how important it is for the IT sector to have more trained personnel. "We currently employ 12,000 people in the sector and we don't take on more because there aren't any," said Gonda, who explained that this figure only includes people who work in Cuti's partner companies. To that we must add those who are employed by other companies outside the industry and also those of the State.
The members of the Engineering delegation concluded that the best option for many young people is the career of Technologist, which coincides with Cuti's vision. With its three-year duration, it currently has a shortage of teachers, especially in Montevideo. Simon emphasized that Testing, an area that does not require previous training in technology and has excellent job opportunities, could also be strengthened.
Gonda supported this proposal and emphasized that both Cuti and the School should work to raise awareness and communicate the opportunities offered by the sector, both in terms of work and training. "We have to go out and tell people, young people, that it is not necessary to be a NASA engineer to work in a technology company. We have to show them the options and short careers, which offer a quick job placement," he said.
In this sense, Lamé asked the authorities of the Faculty of Engineering to accompany Cuti in a tour that will be carried out in the interior of the country to communicate the opportunities of the sector. To promote training outside Montevideo, he stressed that it is important to strengthen blended and online learning options. "There are many people who do not want or cannot come to study or work in Montevideo and we have to open the doors for them," he said.
Among other issues to be included in a joint work, Simon emphasized the need to add more women in technology careers. He said that if the same number of women as men entered the Faculty, enrollment would increase by 40%.
At the end of the meeting, Cuti's board agreed with the members of the Engineering delegation to keep in touch and seek opportunities for interaction and joint work, in order to enhance this thriving sector, which in 2015 generated a turnover of US$ 1,068 million only among the members of the Chamber and exports to 52 countries.
Source: Metropolitan
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