Opening New Opportunities Through Reskilling

Today, businesses must begin to take the next step in their digital transformation to meet their objectives. As these public and private organizations advance in the adoption of cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, skills focused on these areas are becoming more in demand. According to indicators from the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) report, "The Future of Jobs," 95% of companies operating in Mexico expect that by 2030, AI tools will have transformed their operations. 

To ensure that professionals remain at the forefront of technological knowledge and skills, there is a strong commitment from the technology industry in the country to train and update the skills of the workforce in various economic sectors, to promote their empowerment and the capitalization of the new opportunities that digital transformation provides. 

According to the Digital Sprinters study conducted by AlphaBeta, and commissioned by Google, Mexico could obtain an incremental annual impact of between MX$2.2 trillion and MX$3.8 trillion (US$107 billion and US$185 billion) by 2030, with the adoption of digital technologies if they are supported by local policies. 

That is why we are working to train 1 million Mexicans in cloud technologies. We are doing this through an extensive range of training and skills development programs that include free courses on our Google Cloud Skills Boost platform, facilitating access to knowledge and learning new skills to anyone in the country who has an internet connection, regardless of their level of experience. This is also happening through programs like "Súbete a la nube,” an initiative in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, focused on women in the southern region of the country, in which, to date, more than 12,500 people have registered. We have also awarded more than 14,000 digital skills badges, and we collaborate with more than 150 universities and technical schools in Mexico to integrate content on cloud technology and computing into the curricula for new generations. 

This interest in training is not only limited to the private sector. According to the WEF, collective actions are required between the private sector, government, and educational institutions. In the words of Till Leopold, head of work, wages, and job creation at the World Economic Forum, "It's time for companies and governments to work together, invest in skills, and create an equitable and resilient global workforce." 

Within this landscape, where there are contributions being made to move forward a country that takes advantage of the benefits of innovation and digitalization, the acquisition of cloud computing and AI skills is one of the best ways for professionals to future-proof their careers. At the same time, companies that invest today in AI and cloud computing experts will be the leaders of the future. Qualification is possible, and there is still time to take advantage of the opportunities that exist to do so through a wide range of training and skills development programs designed to address the diverse needs of the Mexican technological ecosystem. 

Artificial Intelligence, the Next Frontier 

One of the major barriers that prevents organizations from further leveraging the benefits of artificial intelligence is the lack of skills within this technology. In the past, it was common for an IT professional to be asked to lead a project to modernize a company's data infrastructure; now, their contributions need to go beyond that: they are asked to understand the engineering behind AI, evaluate chips, and train AI models. An additional challenge is the incredibly rapid advancement of AI, so keeping up means investing and constantly reinventing oneself in increasing one's own skills. 

To address the opportunity that AI presents, millions of people with the right skills will be needed. The country's technology leaders within organizations (CTIOs) recognize the importance of keeping up with the dynamism and evolution of technology, and invest a considerable percentage of time in personal and knowledge development related to information technologies. According to a study we commissioned from IDC, in Mexico in 2024 among CTIOs, 38% dedicated three or more times a week to this task, and 37%, between one and two times per week. At the same time, they are relying on external partners, such as cloud providers, when they see the need to leverage a new technology for their organizations. This is crucial when talking about AI, because without the cloud, this technology could not be enabled. 

The adoption of AI is transforming the way companies operate and interact with their customers. AI's ability to automate processes, personalize experiences, and improve decision-making is revolutionizing industries such as retail, financial services, and the public sector. Likewise, AI, along with information processing technologies, is considered the main driver of business transformation toward 2030, according to the World Economic Forum. We are at a tipping point similar to the arrival of cloud computing in the early 2000s. Now is the time to invest in AI skills and be part of this technological transformation.