Mexico City — Latin American companies are reinventing themselves within the ongoing and accelerating digital transformation and, as they try out new technologies, they need skilled talent, and experts consulted by Bloomberg Línea have shared their views on which will be the most in-demand technology professions in 2023.
Moving toward digital transformation, in the main economies of the region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), “large Latin American companies are moving from feeling that they have to change to changing,” said Alberto Otero, partner and head of Americas digital technology at NTT DATA Europe and Latin America.
According to a study on emerging technologies in Latin America, conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services in partnership by NTT DATA, Latin American companies have three key drivers for accelerating their digital transformation: efficiency, by making things cost less and producing more; changing the customer experience, and reinventing processes or business models.
In addition, with the arrival of more startups, and with million-dollar funding from venture capitalists, traditional companies are being threatened, Otero explains.
However, despite their intentions to digitize, 73% of the executives surveyed in the Harvard Business study said that the shortage of talent was the biggest barrier.
In Mexico specifically, at the close of 2022, 57% of companies were expanding their technology workforce, according to a study by Experis Mexico, a company specializing in talent search.
However, 68% reported having difficulty finding the tech talent they were looking for, Carlos Bueso, director of Experis Mexico, told Bloomberg Línea.
By the first quarter of 2023, Bueso said, “explosive technological growth” will continue and this time “technological positions will be more sophisticated or more specialized, more in-depth knowledge of technological platforms is required, which makes hiring dynamics more difficult.”
These are the most in-demand technological professions in 2023 in Latin America, according to trends and experts:
Computing
One of the main emerging technologies being used in Latin America is computing. “That is, everything that means taking computing to the last mile,” says NTT DATA’s Otero.
Technology project managers
All companies that have new technology and digitization projects need a leader who knows the business and information technology (IT), says Bueso, of Experis Mexico.
“You need a person who has a holistic vision, who knows the business, their market and their customers very well, and who understands the tools and possibilities that digitization brings to the market to develop strategies,” adds Miguel Alegre, CEO of ISDI Mexico, an institution specializing in digital transformation.
Data analysis specialists
Data scientists, or data translators, help organizations to structure the different data sources they have in order to then be able to develop strategies, says Alegre.
Bueso adds that associated with the data part, specialists in algorithms are required, who implement artificial intelligence models to provide a better customer experience.
Metaverse construction specialists
According to Alegre, this will be one of the most in-demand technology professions by 2023.
“Companies require a person who aligned to the brand or organization’s strategy knows how to integrate into the metaverse, a new ecosystem where there will be a migration of users and potential customers; a very concrete example can be banking.”
5G specialists
With the entry of 5G technology, experts will be needed in building strategies related to it or the Internet-of-Things, according to Alegre.
Blockchain
With the rise of NFTs, “we are also increasingly pursuing blockchain specialists, but also digital art so that any token can be digitizable,” Alegre adds.
Software developers
This profession will still be in demand in 2023, in general experts in different programming languages are needed, and the most in-demand are: Java and .NET.
Python web developers and mobile developers are also still in vogue, according to Jesús Macedo, director of Human Talent and Organizational Development at SYE Software.
In the development world, both a front-end, that is, someone who can make the graphical interface of the software, and a back-end, who can see the inside of the software, will be in-demand, explains Macedo.
Cloud architects or engineers
“It’s a very particular case because the cloud is a mix between the infrastructure and software worlds,” says Macedo.
Despite the fact that previously finance, banking, insurance and government companies were reluctant to use the cloud because of security issues, regulations have changed and now there is an openness to the cloud.
“This caused a boom in demand for projects migrating to cloud services such as developers and engineers who have these skills and also data analytics,” adds Macedo.
