THE Founder and Chairman of DAMAC Properties, Hussain Sajwani, will be speaking about the increasing demand for advanced digital skills on day one of the World Economic Forum (WEF), taking place on Jan. 23–26 in Davos, Switzerland.

Sajwani’s session participation brings into focus the Middle East’s efforts in developing ICT skills among its young population, where Sajwani was the main supporter of the recently launched ‘One Million Arab Coders’ Initiative in October 2017.

The initiative was conceived from the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, and ruler of Dubai, for the creation of an empowered, happier society through learning and skills development.

The ‘Digital Skills Imperative’ session will bring top decision makers and thinkers together to discuss the need for advancing digital skills as a priority, in response to rapid global digitalization and mass automation. The session aims to identify whether existing skill-building efforts can scale up to address the changing nature of the digital workforce.

“As the world moves towards the adoption of a digital economy, it is becoming increasingly dependent on the availability of a skilled workforce, where each nation’s economic success and failure is dependent on its efforts in developing a talent pool of highly skilled workers to cope with this disruption,” said Sajwani.

‘One Million Coders’ is a first of its kind pan-Arab education initiative supported by the DAMAC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the DAMAC Group and its chairman. Launched in collaboration with Dubai Future Foundation, the initiative aims to create a pool of one million software coders to lead the Arab world into a digital era.

The ‘Digital Skills Imperative’ session at WEF aims to highlight some of the key industry trends driving demand for advanced skills, and raises a number of discussions around the topic including shifting mindsets on lifelong learning and inclusive opportunities, designing incentives for collective action and investment, and understanding the role of emerging technologies.

“The digital skills gap is a global dilemma, not just one for the emerging markets, as millions of jobs in software development already need to be filled right now. What happens when these jobs increase by 20, 30 or 40 percent in the near future? Where will the global community find a sustainable stream of talent to tap into?

“The global community needs more initiatives like ‘One Million Coders’ to empower their societies with the skills and technical expertise required for jobs of the future. This is a strategic imperative for the economic success of any nation, as the world enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Sajwani added. — SG