Bangladesh can take advantage of EU’s shortage of IT specialists

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stands as the cornerstone of modern civilization, revolutionizing every aspect of human existence. From transforming industries and enhancing connectivity to fostering innovation and driving economic growth, ICTs impact is profound and far-reaching. ICT also plays a pivotal role in addressing pressing global challenges, from climate change and healthcare to education and social inclusion, offering transformative solutions that enhance quality of life and build a more equitable future for all. By facilitating digital entrepreneurship, trans-border commercial engagements, andinnovations of every single domain, ICT empowers businesses to thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace, driving job creation, wealth generation, and inclusive growth.

The EUs Unemployment and Demographic Decline Dilemma:  Growing Demand for ICT Specialists: The European Union (EU),one of the worlds largest markets known for its rich cultural heritage and economic prowess, faced a pressing challenge of a 6.1% unemployment rate in 2022. Meanwhile, the EUs working-age population is forecast to decline from 265 million in 2022 to 258 million by 2030. This demographic shift threatens to exacerbate labor shortages, impede the green and digital transitions, and undermine the competitiveness of the EUs economy.

Nonetheless, to understand the unemployment-demographic dilemma, alabour market analysis conductedin the same year by Norway and Switzerland based on the data of EURES National Coordination Offices found that 29 European countries experiencedlabour shortagesand 24 labour surpluses. The occupations that dominated the list of widespread shortages were related to software, healthcare and construction and engineering craft occupations. Among these, information technology can be the area where Bangladesh can carve out a significant niche for itself on the EU along with the global stage.

From 2012 to 2022, the number of ICT specialists in the EU surged by 57.8%, which is nearly 6.6 times the growth rate for employment in the region, i.e., +8.8%. It is to follow a similar trend in the years to come. In 2022, 9.4 million people in the EU worked as ICT specialists, representing 4.6% of the total EU workforce. This burgeoning demand presents a golden opportunity for Bangladesh to not only expand its exports but also to cement its position as a global leader in the ICT industry.

The Future ICT Specialists Demand Saga: The European Commission estimated that, by 2030, the EU will have a shortage of 8 million ICT specialists (European Unions Digital Compass, 2021). In March 2021, the Commission set out its ambition for digital skills based on the skills scorecard of the Digital Economy and Society Index, or DESI. The plan targets producing 20 million ICT specialists by 2030. Bangladesh stands ready to contribute to this talent pool, leveraging its demographic dividend advantages and growing sectors like ICT.

The European Commissions recent launch of the Skills and Talent Mobility Package is one of the best opportunities for countries outside the EU to step up and participate in a mutually beneficial exchange of skills and talent. The Skills and Talent Mobility package is designed to counteract demographic decline and skills-shortage challenges by drawing on global talent pools, making the EU more attractive to non-EU workers through initiatives like the EU Talent Pool, streamlined recognition of qualifications, and enhanced learning mobility.For Bangladesh, a country with a youthful population and anincreasing pool of ICT-skilled workforce, the opportunities presented by this initiative are both timely and promising.

Bangladeshs Opportunity in the EU: The Software and ITES sector of Bangladesh already created more than 0.3 million jobs within the country occupying top-notch skills relating Artificial intelligence, AR/VR simulations, cloud computing, IoT, robotic process automation (RPA), cybersecurity, algorithm design, coding and code review, big data analytics, quantum computing, sensor and machine intelligence, algorithm engineering, human-machine cooperation, and neural networks, almost all integral components of modern technological landscapes.
There are about 0.65 million registered Bangladeshi IT freelancers of whom 0.5 million are active in global freelancing marketplaces, making Bangladesh 2nd largest destination for ICT freelancers in the globe. Bangladeshs ICT human resource advancement does not stop here. With 169 public, private, and autonomous universities, Bangladesh produces more than 25,000 competitive, ICT-skilled, English-proficient technology graduates every year.

Recent data from GitHub has positioned Bangladesh at the forefront of global software development growth, with the country experiencing the highest year-over-year increase in developer accounts. According to figures released by GitHub on 18 January 2024, as part of its Innovation Graph project, Bangladesh saw a 66.5% growth in GitHub developer accounts between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023. This significant increase distinguishes Bangladesh from other rapidly growing tech economies, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, and India, among others. In the period leading up to September 2023, the number of Bangladeshi developers registered on GitHub escalated from 568,145 to 945,696.

The EUs market is vast and varied, with recent trends indicating a surge in demand for ICT. Capitalizing on this opportunity requires more than just the ability to produce; it demands a strategic alignment with the values and expectations of the EU market.With a young, increasingly skilled population and a growing emphasis on sectors like ICT, Bangladesh is well-positioned to contribute to the EUs talent pool. Moreover, the focus on the EUs talent mobility opens up new avenues for Bangladeshi students and professionals to gain international exposure, further enhancing their attractiveness to EU employers.

Looking Ahead: The EU is a forward-looking destination for Bangladesh to offerICT-skilled workforce capable of driving the EUs digital and green transitions. For Bangladesh, the message is clear: the time to prepare and position itself as a key partner in this initiative is now. In steering the evolving landscape of tomorrows workforce, emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, and Cloud Computing demand proficiency to drive innovation and efficiency across various industries.

To recall, every year around 1.6 million students appear in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in Bangladesh out of which around 0.51 million or one-third of the total students are from a science background. We can also observe from the Bangladesh Education Statistics (2022) that in 2022, more than 0.2 million students passed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from the science department. If we can encourage all the 0.51 million science students of the SSC to stay in science and take such a program that will make sure to enroll most of them into computer science or related engineering subjects, then the scenario will be different as the EUs IT service market stands at US$244 billion at this point, and if Bangladesh couldgrab only 5% of it, then, we could generate US$12.2 billion, easing the forex reserve pressure felt by the country and using almost no additional power and energy resources compared to the product-exporting sectors.

The EU can come up with a mid-term programme connecting the leading ICT trade body, BASIS, that currently represents around 2,500 ICT firms and companies forpromoting career opportunities, building up awareness to pursue computer science-related higher education track among SSC and HSC passers in the Government of Bangladesh. BASIS and its venture BITM have so far trained 50,000 people and equipped them with industry-demanded technological skills and competencies. BASIS and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) lead the TopSE program that upskills and reskills mid-level ICT engineers in Bangladesh. In addition to that, BASIS also works with PUM Netherlands and other national and global partners to address the new emerging skills needs of Bangladesh ICT sector, indicating that, BASIS and the EU can collaborate to lead the future workforce, shaping a brighter tomorrow for all.

Enamul Hafiz Latifee is a Trade & Policy Economist, Joint Secretary (Research Fellow), Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and Md Mominul Islam is a Research Associate, BASIS