One Billion Techies For Hire: A global problem with an inclusive solution

The World Economic Forum has estimated that by 2030, there will be one-billion tech vacancies globally. The fourth industrial revolution is on the horizon and considering that roughly one in seven people on Planet Earth will be working in the tech industry by this point – we are facing a recruitment problem of epic proportions.   

At the beginning of April, a group of Great Women from Great State virtually ventured to the We Are Tech Women conference, to spend a day listening and learning from thought leaders within our industry. With multiple stages covering everything from the vital role of women within the tech and innovation space, to diversity, inclusion and career advice, there was something to take home for each of us. What hit home for me? This startlingly large recruitment issue lying just over the horizon, and how globally, our current education systems aren’t geared up to meet the demands of the rapidly changing digital space. Notably, the ever-demanding presence of the Metaverse and Web3.  

I attended a talk by Esther O’Callaghan OBE. Esther is a shining example of a someone who never considered a career in tech – having started life working in a record shop age 13. Esther is the Founder and CEO of Hundo, the self-described ‘home of Gen Z talent’ which is on a mission to end global youth unemployment. Hundo are forging a path for young people into the tech space, with a focus on levelling out biases and access inequalities as they go. Esther is making sure that women and other under-represented communities will comprise the bedrock of our technological futures.  

In her talk she spoke about a growing skills gap, a lack of clear career paths into tech, and the fact that automation within the industry is causing many entry level positions to disappear. To tackle this, she and her team have created Hundo Campus, the first ever ‘learn to earn’ campus, hosted within the Metaverse and targeted at Gen Z. Students will earn tokens to spend within the metaverse as they partake in masterclasses from creators and industry leaders, upskilling themselves rapidly within a future-oriented space. She quite rightly stated that ‘no one needs to study how to code for three years anymore’, due to the rapid and continuous transformation of the tech industry. Skills young people learn over a three-year course swiftly become redundant; therefore, she and the team are creating accessible, flexible and speedy pathways into tech designed to nurture the next generation of techies as they arrive.  

We know that technology is going to play an increasingly dominant role in our lives and to design valuable, future-proof technologies, we need to make sure that everyone has a seat at the design table. Organisations like Hundo are thinking one-step ahead and building these communities for the future, and I for one am interested in and proud to watch these ideas come to life and to think about what we, at Great State, can do to help these communities grow.  

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