The new tech generation step forward

A recent study by software firm SAP and Oxford Economics warns of a looming “talent crisis” in the UAE with few employees proficient enough in the technology they need to stay ahead of the game.

Just 24 per cent of UAE employees expect to be proficient in cloud technology by 2017, a study found. Dado Ruvic / Reuters

Do you store all your files on iCloud, communicate solely via Gmail and command thousands of followers on Twitter?

If so, beware: you are in danger of being overtaken in the workplace by savvy young “millennials” who are embracing the next generation of technology.

It sounds counter-intuitive. But even those at the vanguard of the tech revolution today stand to be the Luddites of tomorrow, employment experts say.

A recent study by the software firm SAP and Oxford Economics warned of a looming “talent crisis” in the UAE – with the majority of workers saying their employers do not provide adequate training in technology.

Just 24 per cent of UAE employees expect to be proficient in cloud technology by 2017, the report found. Most respondents also said they would be unprepared in the fields of data analytics, mobile technology and social media.

Even those who use cloud and social media platforms are in danger of falling behind, says Nelly Boustany, the head of human resources at SAP in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Employees need to be familiar with using cloud, analytics, mobile technology,” she says. “If they have an iCloud account or are using Facebook and Twitter that’s a good start ... But it goes beyond these basic uses.”

Just 17 per cent of UAE employees say they have access to the latest technology at work, according to the study, part of the Workforce 2020 report that surveyed 5,400 executives worldwide.

With more than half of the UAE employees questioned saying that training programmes are important to their career, the report called on businesses to close the widening skills gap.

“Companies do not invest as much as is needed in order to prepare for the skills [required in] the future,” says Ms Boustany. “If they don’t, they will lose their edge.”

The need to boost skills in cloud, data analytics, mobile and social media is obviously greater for those in technology-related roles, she adds.

But even workers in cafes and restaurants, for example, need to brush up on these skills, she points out: “If you look at the way some of the orders are being taken today, they are taken on a tablet and the order goes to the kitchen in real time. The scale depends on what company you are talking about. But if you look at it in a broader spectrum, I think it touches everyone.”

The need for employers to boost training in technology is common worldwide, Ms Boustany says, adding that UAE companies risk losing their edge if they do not cater for the so-called “millennials” – those born in the 1980s or later – entering the workforce.

“These are high-technology savvy employees who were born in the digital age, who are very social, very collaborative. They were born with iPhones, mobile phones and technology in their hands,” she says.

The report found that 27 per cent of managers in the UAE are worried that millennials may quit their jobs because of lack of development opportunities.

“For the companies to make the best out of the upcoming workforce, they need to prepare the ground in order for these employees to be engaged,” says Ms Boustany.

Despite gloomy warnings about a looming talent crisis, employment experts were sanguine about the ability of UAE employees to meet the technological challenges ahead.

Rabea Ataya, chief executive of the recruitment site Bayt.com, says the UAE jobs market attracts “world class talent”, in areas such as cloud computing and social marketing.

“We are not worried about a talent crisis in any field in the UAE,” he says. “The UAE has become a magnet for global best-of-breed talent in all sectors.”

Panos Manolopoulos, the managing partner of the executive search firm Stanton Chase in the Middle East, believes it is an exaggeration to say there is a talent crisis on the horizon.

“In regard to the middle management and the lower positions, I think that the study does exaggerate a little bit,” he says.

Despite this, he says many UAE companies probably need to invest more in training staff in new technologies.

With more millennials entering the workplace, it is now more important than ever that older employees keep up with tech trends, Mr Manolopoulos adds.

“An executive will become obsolete within a few years if he doesn’t follow up the new technologies,” he says. “Personally, if I don’t follow religiously the new technologies and changes that are happening, I feel I’m falling behind.”