@POTUS and @VP have been clear: unless we help El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras address poverty, violence & governance, desperate ppl will seek to migrate.
Today, we stood up a new @USAID task force focused on stemming root causes of migration from Central America. pic.twitter.com/tijr6KmgG1
— Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) May 4, 2021
Self-Education
In the face of a lack of educational opportunities, software engineers in Central America have taken matters into their own hands, learning new skills through online programs.
“Knowledge is more readily accessible today. You don’t need colleges today, as long as you have a computer with a broadband Internet connection,”commented Guillermo Carreras.
“It’s crazy the amount of people that are self-thought, especially in the AI space. They became machine learning engineers by themselves”—Mario Siman, Novatech Co-Founder
Though the phenomenon is not unique to Central America, the trend is allowing talents in the region to compete more directly with their global peers.
“Even us locals were amazed by the quality of talent and the ability of the talent to upskill by themselves,” said Mario Siman. “It’s crazy the amount of people that are self-thought, especially in the AI space. They became machine learning engineers by themselves”
Self-Confidence
The fame of Latin America in general is growing in the eyes of the US market. Global staffing company Deel reported that, in the first quarter of 2023, over 3,000 US companies hired Latin American workers through its platform.
Though Central America still lacks the level of notoriety achieved by Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, its tech sector is convinced that that will change soon.
“I do feel that there is some kind of inherent bias about the [Latin American] talent being inferior. [But] I do believe, and by example we’ve seen it, that Nearshore talent is at the same level,” commented Mario Siman. “The perception is that it’s not a mature market, but that has changed significantly since COVID […] I think it’s going to continue on an exponential curve.”
Salvadoran tech firm Applaudo, for example, has built a noticeable portfolio of clients over the past couple years, which includes GAF Energy, Walmart and the Miami Heat. TCS LATAM plans to turn Ecuador into one of its hubs for regional IT exports.
There’s a lot of rubble that the Central American tech sector will need to move in order to shine on a global stage. Nevertheless, its people are showing themselves to be tenacious and willing to prove to everyone what they’re made of.
“Having worked for years in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, I’m going to say that the talent that I find in Central America, and specifically in Costa Rica, by far surpasses [that of those US cities],” commented Nora Zamora. “When I hear somebody say to me or to my team ‘Please, make sure your talent is good enough’, my response is ‘Honey, we’re gonna kill you’. We’re ten times better”.
Source link : https://nearshoreamericas.com/whats-behind-the-tech-awakening-in-central-america/
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Publish date : 2023-08-17 11:48:19
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