ICT talent will accelerate Oman’s future digital economy

Developing a robust pipeline of local ICT talent and building the ICT talen ecosystem in Oman is vital for securing its future digital economy

ROBIN CHEN

CEO, Huawei Tech Investments in Oman

Across the Middle East, ICT technologies have ushered historical transformation and enabled Arab leaders to diversify and strengthen economies. Next-generation technologies like 5G, cloud computing, IoT, and big data have significantly contributed to the development of the Oman’s post-oil, digitally-driven economy and greatly enriched our society.

The Intelligent World 2030 report predicts that by 2030, there will be more than 200 billion global connections, and every enterprise, household, and individual on this planet will have 10-gigabit connectivity. In line with Oman’s Vision 2040, digital transformation is taking place across the Sultanate at an accelerated pace. According to GlobalData, ICT spending in Oman is poised to touch $5.6bn in 2024, growing from $3.2bn in 2019. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by e-governance services, e-commerce and adoption of advanced technologies like cloud computing, 5G, IoT, artificial intelligence, etc.

Fueling this tremendous growth of Oman’s digital economy is its local ICT talent ecosystem. There’s undeniably a growing talent gap globally. According to Korn Ferry, there will be a global shortage of more than 85.2 million skilled people by 2030, causing a financial impact worth $8.452 trillion. Therefore, developing a robust pipeline of local ICT talent and building the ICT talent ecosystem in Oman is vital for securing its future digital economy.

At Huawei, we believe in a collaborative approach to ICT ecosystem development. We feel that promoting the development of local talent is best done in cooperation between the public and private sectors. In the past two decades, we’ve helped the Middle East cultivate more than 100,000 ICT talents, out of which more than 10,000 talents were based in Oman. In the Sultanate, we have worked with a vast number of educational authorities, universities, other educational institutions, and partners to set talent standards, build alliances, and demonstrate the value of talent. Some of our partners include the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Salalah College of Technology, and Shinas College of Technology.

Additionally, we run many global and regional initiatives that help nurture future ICT leaders, including the Seeds For the Future program, Huawei ICT Academy, and Huawei ICT Competition. Currently, the 5th edition of Huawei ICT Competition is underway and we’ve witnessed a strong response from Omani students, with around 650 applications this year. To date, over 4000 students in Oman have participated in the Huawei ICT Competition since 2017.

We truly believe these young minds have the power, resilience, and imagination to unlock a world full of incredible possibilities for Oman’s digital economy. Their imagination is the only limit on how far humanity can go, but it is the actions we take now that will determine how quickly we can get there. The best way to embrace the future is to build it ourselves.