How CIOs in the Middle East address talent shortages

IT organizations are having to transform themselves to meet the evolving needs of the future enterprise, and CIOs are increasingly being tasked with leading this transformation as IT becomes the enterprise operating system. As the world of work continues to evolve and organizations shift to hybrid work models, new challenges and opportunities present themselves.

Finding and keeping tech talent has never been easy. However, as the world of work continues to evolve and organisations shift to hybrid work models, new challenges and opportunities present themselves. How can technology leaders leverage these shifts to enhance online and virtual experiences and strengthen competitiveness by developing people, talent, and skills?

According to the World Economic Forum, by 2023, 85 million jobs will disappear, 97 million new jobs will arise and 50% of the workforce will need to reskill. Every year, talent is one of the top challenges IT organisations face, especially after last year’s upswing of GenAI. Is there anything CIOs can do to transcend this shortage?

“Our strategy is based on the pilar ‘Prepared people for the future’ and that’s why in Oman the Government has also launched several initiatives to prepare either job seekers or students. AI has changed the world, especially GenAI last year so, so how do we prepare ourselves?”, asked Dr. Salim Al-Shuaili, Director, Artificial Intelligence & Advanced Technology Projects Unit, Oman’s Ministry of Transportation & Information Technology. “First of all, surely, we have to digitalise our services, be data-driven and decision making, also it’s important in the world there’s a regulation across AI and some policies for technology.”

A lot of updates are coming in tech with innovations all the time, the reason why CIOs are suffering a shortage of talent, according to tech leaders from a technical perspective it’s hard to find a special team in certain technologies and cover the needs of the projects

“There are not enough people in the market, when you explain your need to the recruitment team they work based on your job description, but there is a shortage so we need to find someone proactive who is willing to learn,” added Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem Al Zaabi, Director of Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity and AI, Abu Dhabi Government.

The market is changing so the demand for new fields is changing too and it’s important organizations and HR know what a CIO needs. “ We can’t move with our current strategy, the change has to come from the C-senior level, and we have to be early adopters. In healthcare ten years ago every organisation was using paper, breaking into digital was something new and required a lot of work and for that, you need to find the proper workforce to execute the mission, so you have two options, either you find the talent if possible or you train your staff, of course, you can fail at the beginning but if you follow an AI-process oriented strategy who understand the impact of AI then you will have an oriented workforce who will find solutions and will close the gaps,” highlighted Dr. Ali Al Sanousi, Executive Director, Clinical Information Systems, Hamad Medical Corporation.

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