HRDC presents findings on skills needs in the ICT sector

The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has carried out a national survey on skills needs in ten main economic sectors in Mauritius as part of the HRDC Skills Studies 2017 project. The findings for each sector are being validated by industry experts and other stakeholders before they are published.

The objectives of this study are to find out the current patterns of skills across sectors, as well as to assess skills in the short, medium and longer terms. The study also aimed at identifying the immediate and future skills requirements, providing an indication of the different skills which are required in less developed industrial sectors, provide a basis to build projects to address skills gaps and make policy recommendations to reduce those skills gaps in the different sectors.

The HRDC Skills Studies covered sectors such as Agriculture and Fishing, Construction and allied services, Tourism and Hospitality, ICT-BPO, Manufacturing, Wholsesale and Retail trade, Freights, Logoistic and Transport, Storage, Life Sciences, among others. A total of 1,252 companies from the private sector in Mauritius were interviewed.

The presentation of the findings on skills need for the ICT sector was launched on Thursday 16th November at the HRDC at Ebène by the Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun. Professionals from the ICT sector were also present at the launching to share their insights and suggestions on the report.

In his address, the Director of the HRDC, Raj Auckloo, stated that the main role of the HRDC is to commission research in the field of human resource development. “It is also in our mandate to take appropriate measures to address the issue of skills gap in the country and make sure that all sectors of the economy obtain adequate skilled manpower to carry out their operation.”

He explained that the skills survey will also help in identifying the critical skills and hard-to-fill posts in the ICT sector and to match the various man power needs of the different occupational groups of the sector. “Changes in the ICT sector mean that employers are looking for candidates with a wider range of skills than ever before. We understand that companies may not always possess the foresight to ensure that sufficient numbers of people are being trained in transferable skills vital to the economy and to the long term national needs.

Thus, through initiatives like our national Skills Studies, we would like to support these enterprises through manpower planning and development,” said Raj Auckloo. He added that we have to maintain a long-term perspective on skills development to reduce skills shortage in Mauritius and their impact on the economic growth of the country.
The HRDC carried out the survey among 131 ICT enterprises and invited ICT professionals, employers, Human Resource managers and training providers to share their ideas and experiences in the recruitment, training and development of their employees.

The survey has highlighted that statistics in 2016 indicate that only 3,866 youth enrolled in IT and IT related fields at tertiary level while over 10,000 candidates sit for the HSC exams.
The findings indicate that missing skills among school leavers, university graduates and TVET graduates are self-management skills, business and customer awareness skills, good communication skills, problem solving skills and international cultural awareness.

In the sample of 131 ICT enterprises, the survey found out that 30% of them sought the services of expatriates, out of which 11 used the work permit route and 35 the occupation permit. These enterprises stated that they employed expatriates mainly because “relevant skills and experience are not available locally, expats are multi-skilled, hence, can be used for different jobs, expats are more flexible in terms of working hours, among others.”

Among top occupations in the ICT sector that would be in demand in 2022: IT Engineer, Network Engineer, System Engineer Software Engineer, Tele-agent, IT Technician.The survey indicated that there is the need to enhance ICT awareness in the education sector in order to attract more students in ICT as from primary school. There is also the need to develop a strategy to promote STEM skills in Mauritius.