1. Updating the IT skills gap
Moldova ICT Summit 2016
John O’Sullivan April 28, 2016
Igor Bercu Chisinau, Moldova
Disclaimer
The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessary reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

2. What’s it all about ? A fresh view of the (alleged) IT skills gap
Updating earlier studies
Baseline for further projects by USAID and others
Methodology: Research + Interviews + Surveys
197 companies
211 students
78 graduates

3. Economic and political dramas
Banking, economic and political crises:
GDP down by 2.5%
Inflation up from 5 to 13%
Interest rates up from 3.5 to 19.5%
Military action and unrest in Ukraine
Six recent Governments
Impact on ICT is not clear

4. ICT sector in Moldova
Hundreds of companies, growing at about 20 per year
Four large, > 250 people: Allied Testing, Cedacri, Endava, Global Phoning
Six medium, : Amdaris, Arax-Impex, DAAC, Neuron, Pentalog, Tacit
Four telecoms: Moldcell, Moldtelecom, Orange, Starnet
Accurate statistics are not easy to obtain

5. Services and Markets Full range of ICT services and sectors
Outsourcing dominates
Government and Agriculture/Food look low

6. Number of IT Jobs
National Bureau of Statistics reports 10,340 for 2014
+ Under recording
+ Freelancers
+ IT people in other sectors, eg banking
So total could be about 12,500
Highest paid sector in Moldova, double national average: 8,500 lei in January 2015
High productivity: 1.8% of workforce; 1.5% of GDP
Very high exports

7. Occupations
Programming dominates
But lots of others too

8. Recruitment methods
Advertising and personal recommendation are favourites

9. But good people are difficult to find
Lack of skills is the key issue

10. Sources of new entrants
UTM dominates
Lots of others

11. Platforms and languages needed
Wide variety of everything
No dominant technology

12. Even more variety

13. Testing skills needed too
All aspects of testing are required

14. Foreign language and personal skills needed

15. Some employer quotations
Struggling to maintain people.
Direct recruiting from universities has not been successful.
Main problem is quality of people.
Teaching staff are poor – teachers should be certified.
The skills gap is growing.
Graduates lack product skills.
Everything is the same – still disappointing.
Hours of practice must increase.
The problem is quality and organisation of practical work.
Students do not understand what a system is.
Typically six months to recruit.

16. 72% of companies do not collaborate with education

17. But what do students think ?
Speciality
Current
university
Why IT ?

18. Which is best for IT ? Why ?

19. Internship - How obtained ? How useful ?

20. Overall ratings

21. Continue your education ?

22. Young graduates

23. Overall satisfaction with education

24. Additional training needed

25. More additional training needed

26. And even more additional training needed

27. Career progression Overall career satisfaction Why ?
Continuing your education

28. So, is there still a skills gap ?

29. Some recent improvements
Education Code
Curricula improvements
Labs updated
Many ICT start-ups
Government and political support
e-Government services
Law on IT parks
Communications infrastructure
Tekwill

30. But there is still a gap Industry is still complaining
So are the universities
It’s quality, not quantity
Improve industry - university engagement
Further improvements to curricula

31. Industry - University engagement
Participation on governing and management bodies
Advice on curricula
Provision of case studies, projects
Guest and visiting lecturers
Internships – for lecturers
External examiners
Provision of equipment, software, and educational materials
Help with teacher training

32. Curricula improvements
More practical work, less theoretical
OO programming, Java, C# and C++
Linux, Mobile, Database, Applications
Personal skills
Foreign languages, especially English

33. 4. Governance of Education
Agenda for Action 2012
4. Governance of Education
1. Physical assets 3.
Teaching
2. Curricula

34. Conclusion Good progress Still lots to do Keep up the good work
Good luck