The Future is Shaped by Talent

In recent years, Mexico has captured global attention as a strategic destination for companies seeking operational efficiency, proximity to major consumer markets, and more predictable investment environments. Its closeness to the United States, proven export capacity, and mature logistics infrastructure have positioned it as a key link in the new configuration of global supply chains.

However, realizing this potential depends not only on the availability of land or efficient logistics infrastructure. Increasingly, the development of technical and specialized talent is recognized as a critical component to ensure the viability of these investments.

Today, Mexico’s success as a global industrial platform requires people capable of operating advanced technologies, leading complex production processes, and adapting to constantly evolving industries. At this point, the country faces a growing obstacle: the shortage of technical and specialized talent.

Strategic sectors such as advanced manufacturing, energy, logistics, and medical devices are finding it increasingly difficult to fill key positions, slowing their ability to expand. Engineers, specialized technicians, certified operators, and digital profiles are now scarcer than demand requires.

But companies have not remained passive observers of the problem. In many cases, they have taken an active role in building the talent they need—not as a short-term fix, but as part of a long-term strategy to ensure operational continuity, scalability, and competitiveness in a demanding global environment.

Across different regions, companies in industries such as manufacturing, energy, IT, and life sciences have established partnerships with technical universities, technology institutes, and specialized training centers. Through dual education programs, they have brought classrooms closer to production lines, allowing students to learn while integrating into real work environments. Some have developed in-house, intensive training tracks for technicians and engineers, with sector-specific content in areas such as automation, robotics, electromobility, or cybersecurity.

There are also promising initiatives focused on inclusion. Scholarship programs, mentorships, and support for young people in vulnerable situations — as well as specific efforts to increase the participation of women in STEM careers — have begun to address structural barriers that have long limited access to opportunity.

Countries like Germany, South Korea, and Singapore have shown that investing in technical and specialized talent is not a luxury, it’s a cornerstone of national competitiveness. Germany’s dual education system, which blends academic learning with hands-on experience in the private sector, has long been a model of successful workforce integration (OECD, 2021). South Korea’s sustained investment in technical and scientific education since the 1960s has transformed it into a high-tech economy, with engineers and technicians playing central roles in its industrial evolution (World Bank, 2020). Singapore, through its SkillsFuture initiative, has pioneered modular certification programs and lifelong learning pathways co-designed with industry partners (World Economic Forum, 2023).

These international examples highlight a simple truth: the development of specialized talent is a national strategy, not just a corporate responsibility. Mexico is facing a historic opportunity. The reshaping of global supply chains places the country at a crossroads, between becoming a long-term industrial leader or missing a rare window of transformation. To seize this moment, we must treat talent as infrastructure. If we invest in people with the same urgency as we do in capital and logistics, Mexico will not only attract investment, it will lead the next chapter of inclusive, innovation-driven growth.

In an environment where specialized talent is limited, developing it is not optional, it is strategic. And those who prioritize it gain not only competitiveness, but also resilience and legitimacy.

Still, no single actor can address the challenge alone. For talent development to be sustainable and scalable, a much stronger and better-coordinated ecosystem is required. What’s missing today is not intention but alignment.

Mexico would benefit from public policy that recognizes human capital as a strategic pillar of growth. This includes modernizing the technical education system, expanding dual education models, updating curricula to reflect market demands, and promoting modular certification, continuous learning, and accessible digital platforms.

An inclusive approach is also essential. Expanding access to training for women, youth, and historically underserved regions is not only a matter of fairness, it’s a question of economic viability. The country’s transformation will not succeed if millions remain excluded from the productive system due to lack of access or opportunity.

The private sector can — and must — move faster. But without a stronger educational foundation, smart incentives for human capital investment, and a regionalized skills development strategy aligned to industry needs, progress will remain fragmented.

Mexico already has a young generation eager to grow, companies willing to invest in people, and industrial sectors with enormous potential. The real challenge is to bring these elements together under a shared national strategy, one that puts people, skills, and long-term vision at the center. Because true development happens when people have the tools to transform their reality and build the future.