The Next Generation of Talent: Reflecting on Vista’s Visit to the UAE

I believe education is a continuum that starts when one first begins school and is a lifelong endeavor.

Last week wrapped up my second visit to the UAE in a month and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the region. On a personal level, I have had the privilege of traveling to many countries around the world, and I enjoy the breadth of perspectives it gives me on global issues.

My recent visits to the Gulf have been punctuated with meaningful discussions, knowledge-sharing and networking — I am always impressed by the energy, optimism and entrepreneurial spirit that I encounter here. I’ve spent time discussing the global tech market and the continued resiliency of the enterprise software sector. I feel energized about the future of our industry.

I have long been a passionate believer that broader access to education is key to the advancement of technology. We need to ensure the next generation has equal access to opportunities by narrowing the skill gap that currently exists. The current talent shortage around the world poses problems for our global economy. There is a significant job-to-student gap, with less than 2.4% of college students graduating with a degree in computer science.

Without meaningful action, this gap will widen at the expense of growth, innovation and opportunity. Programs across both the public and private sectors have a role to play in accelerating training and equipping our future workforce with tools to fully realize the benefits of digitalization.

The UAE is already trying to address this problem with its "Advanced Skills Strategy," a national framework to consolidate the concept of life-long learning for its citizens. At Vista Equity Partners, we continue to support organizations like Code.org and Scratch that teach children coding skills from an early age and generate access to opportunity and education.

In fact, several of our portfolio companies provide development opportunities for today’s workforce outside of traditional educational pathways. For example, Pluralsight provides an e-learning software platform to improve the digital skills of our existing global workforce. Through its work, the company is helping to accelerate digital transformation in the UAE, including through a partnership with CodersHQ. These programs reflect the scope of the vision we will need to unleash the global full human and economic potential worldwide of our future workforce.

I look forward to returning to the UAE soon. As a firm, we have been building relationships and strategic partnerships in the region for well over a decade and we have seen first-hand the transformation underway. As ever, I'm reminded that the opportunity provided by enterprise software extends beyond borders and we see vast potential ahead.