Urgent need to improve digital skills - prove me wrong, would your workforce know what web 3.0 was?

Market insiders predict that as virtual commodities develop credibility in the Emirates and around the world, more companies are willing to?pay?salaries in digital currencies, and the market will become less volatile as a result of improved legal frameworks and?laws.?Some economies have indeed adopted blockchain, with a few technology businesses having even begun paying their staff in cryptos!!

With Dubai establishing a legal infrastructure and an entity to govern virtual assets, industry executives feel it's likely that employees will be paid in cryptocurrencies, and residents will be able to pay bill payments and purchase goods using this new kind of currency. One such example I would like to make note of is Emirates Draw and YottaChain International Holding Limited (DIFC), a company that concentrates on data storage solution decentralisation, has inked a contract that allows crypto owners to partake in the Emirates Draw, indicating a strong acceptance of digital assets in the City of Gold. First-phase payments will be made in USDT, a conventional?and reliable token, through a decentralized app?(dApp).

?Crypto adoption has accelerated, with investors in the crypto business increasing by more than 500% between 2018 and 2021. Emmanuel Givanakis, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) CEO, suggested the business case for digital?assets, as well as,?the fundamental distributed ledger tech?or blockchain, will remain to grow in the coming years,

Given the various forms of use cases, such as governance, store of value, payments, and so on, it appears that the next five years will be interesting. Moreover, the application of blockchain across several sorts of financial services actions, such as settlement, trading, and custody has the potential to grow.

The bigger question and concern that I have, is “is the current labour market able to cope with the demands of the requests for implementation?”

While the demand for digital skills (across the crypto, blockchain and Web 3.0) are high, the supply is low. Workforces do not always have the skills needed to manage digital transformation, and businesses often struggle to find talent for digital roles.

In my opinion, the current labour shortage and skill gaps are?most acute in the blockchain industry applications ?due to its nascent stage, fragmented talent pools, and massive growth.?Traditional companies ?entering blockchain application markets are further making the talent squeeze acute. The?torrid growth?in demand for crypto skills poses significant hurdles to companies trying to recruit the needed talent.

The biggest risk this poses if not addressed is that businesses end up relying solely on a 'buy' strategy, going out to the market to try to recruit the skills they need. This can prove to be a costly and counter-productive solution resulting in new hires in critical roles who will have a ramp time - if they stay long enough - to build up their company knowledge and internalise the company culture and values.

Instead of being overly dependent on a 'buy' strategy, organisations should give greater focus to a 'build' strategy, providing staff with the training that will enable them to develop a sustainable digital skillset and address digital innovation in the business.

The likes of cryptocurrency payment gateways and web 3.0 are not going anywhere, yet I am not seeing many organisations upskill their staff, or hire talent to integrate these so-called futuristic skill sets that are right on our doorstep!

What solutions do you have?