INTERVIEW
mission or McKinsey, continuously flag the expected changes. A primary repercussion is the global increase of the gap between demand and supply in high-level ICT Skills, leading to a high number of job vacancies. New job profiles are being developed, requiring different skill sets. Someone can easily understand, following the technology disruptions of the past 20 years, why futurists claim that up to 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. Further, globally, up to 800 million of today’s jobs could be lost due to automation and up to 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories by 2030.
Year 2010
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2017
Milestones International expansion kicks off with global delivery of ITIL Qualifications, the global best practice in IT Service Management Invested heavily in Assessment Technology for paper- and computer-based testing Delivered exams in 60 countries Developed its first global online proctoring technology (exam supervision from webcam) Got global distribution rights for PRINCE2, the world’s most well-known Project Management methodology Acquired City & Guilds English Language qualification, later revamped to LanguageCert Awarded sole distribution of AXELOS global best practice portfolio. AXELOS is joint venture of the UΚ government and Capita Plc. Added over 500 new partners, exceeding a network of 2000 globally
Professionals are increasingly needed in a number of ICT fields, such as software development, digital marketing, big data, business analysis, project management and cybersecurity. All countries, regardless of their economic state need to deal immediately with the current and expected implications. IN AN EFFORT TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES, COULD WE ASSUME THAT ON TOP OF YOUR TO-DO LIST, LIES YOUR EFFORTTO RESKILL GREEKS ON PROGRAMMING? I strongly believe that because of the shortage of ICT professionals globally, in Europe and in Greece, we must focus on youth reskilling – converting our unemployed talent to software developers and in other, in-demand, ICT professionals. Our question is whether we can create half a million ICT jobs in Greece within the next 10 years! The feasibility study commissioned in cooperation with the Athens University of Economics and Business, ALBA and HePIS (the Hellenic Professional Informatics Society) investigated this and concluded that, yes, it is indeed possible; we can create many,well-paid, ICT jobs in Greece within 10 years. We just need to utilize the existing pool of unemployed people and ensure the cooperation of the public and the private sector.
30 | EUROPEAN BUSINESS REVIEW
Greece is an excellent option for global companies looking to set up here ICT-related cost centres, such as their data analytics or software development functions. Greece offers access to highly-educated workforce, equally sophisticated but less expensive when compared to other developed countries, such as the UK or the USA. Furthermore, the great thing about most ICT professionals is that they can work remotely. You can work from anywhere in Greece, including the islands, for any company anywhere in the world – right from your home.
Going back to the reskilling element, top foreign and local employers are great supporters of our Coding Bootcamps. We have already reskilled as Software Developers hundreds of candidates and “matched” them with top employers as we are the inspiration behind Alliance of Digital Employability (AFDEmp) and its Coding Bootcamps. The concept is simple: we are selecting unemployed, mainly Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) candidates, that have zero or limited technical backgrounds. Essentially, they start from scratch. If they graduate successfully – after completing an extremely intensive program of 500 training hours in 12 weeks (which means at least 8 training hours per day), 3 exams, and a number of hand-on projects (e.g. web-based apps), we help them join top companies as entry-level developers. This is a life-changing experience. Personally, I am extremely happy that our vision of quickly converting unemployed young people to ICT professionals has become a reality. We change their future permanently. Under the AFD Emp umbrella we have successfully finished 3such “pilot” Coding Bootcamps and we are currently busy getting prepared for the next phase: expansion and large-scale impact. Classes take place in PeopleCert Innovation and Excellence Center and additional activities are already scheduled in the following months. Demand has grown and in creasingly more companies approach us to find new talent and support AFD Emp’s initiative. This proves that we have made a huge step towards establishing a new educational model.