Universities’ IT Programs Are Obsolete, Need Actualization

The digital environment experienced an accelerated rate of metamorphosis during the COVID-19 pandemic; and its complexity currently exceeds the academic preparation that Mexico’s institutions offer their students. If education programs are not updated, students risk becoming dispensable.

The technical programs being offered by Mexico’s public education subsystems continue to be oriented towards “first-floor support,” a job that no longer pays well said Jorge Barragán, Regional Director of the International Youth Foundation (IYF). Having a person help connect your printer or internet is no longer necessary in a market where users already have those skills he added.

The subsystems of the National College of Technical Professional Education (CONALEP) must be specialized to produce experts in networks, said Barragán. The College of Scientific and Technological Studies (CECYT) also needs to update its programs to nurture talent capable of code development. "If we don't get involved in these programs, we are going to have irrelevant technicians who aspire to earn little and in the informal sector."

Intervening and investing in actualized IT curriculums now "would increase the employability of young people and double or triple their salaries," he said. Addressing this issue is essential to provide this emerging talent pool the skills necessary to navigate a network that has become more complex, while providing the market with qualified talent for which there is currently a deficit.

Partnering with Becalos Televisa Foundation, IYF created the Networking Mexico program to influence the curriculums of eight technical higher secondary education institutions. Ultimately, preliminary results indicate that the program helped 70 percent of graduates find employment in the sector "with salaries that double the income of their families," reported Gabriela Rojas Jiménez, Executive Director of Bécalos.

Investing in the development of competitive IT talent would not only help domestic companies reduce turnover costs associated with training personnel; it would also help nurture the overall development of the country’s ICT sector. If successful, it could potentially lead to an increase in foreign investment from high-tech firms, proposes a report by UNAM. Overall, failing to address this matter threatens to set back not only Mexico’s emerging talent but the development of its ICT sector.