FEATURE : SKILLS & TRAINING

A lack of skills and resources has been either the number one or number two obstacle to achieving organisational objectives , according to the past four annual Gartner CIO surveys . Industry pundits share tips for fruitful reskilling , upskilling and cross-training to bridge the skills gap and how to build the next generation of IT leaders . makers globally , across markets including the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . As CIOs navigate new territories , how their IT teams operate on a day-to-day basis and how they prepare for the future have fundamentally changed ,” he said .

According to Al-Zoubi , Cisco ’ s Accelerating Digital Agility Research surveyed CIOs and IT decision makers across Europe , The Middle East , Europe and Russia ( EMEAR ), finding that many are looking to maximise investments in digitisation and drive innovation after a difficult year , which inevitably raised the profile of IT leaders in driving critical workplace innovation .

Osama Al-Zoubi , CTO , Cisco Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), said to create the next generation of IT leaders , every organisation both regionally and around the world must first and foremost look to invest in its workforce and build digital skills from the ground up . Knowledge and expertise cannot simply sit with a sole CIO or CTO , it must cascade throughout the organisation , and especially among IT teams . Al-Zoubi said to make this possible , there has to be close alignment between the strategic vision of the company – usually determined by the C-suite and practical problem solving and recommendations by teams on-ground .

“ In 2020 , Cisco ’ s inaugural CIO Perspectives survey identified the strategic priorities for 1,300 decision

“ Technology will be a driving factor in the facilitation of CIOs and IT decision makers to tackle talent retention , internal corporate initiatives and broader societal issues ,” he noted . “ The reality is that this focus on upskilling needs to become more widespread and treated as an imminent priority . Some organisations have the ability to conduct trainings in-house or on the job , while others look towards external accreditations as a signifier of competency .”

The tech talent squeeze in the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ) implies that CIOs must build deep leadership benches and , in an environment , where IT talent is lacking , it is crucial that training and skilling programmes be handled by competent teams in a concerted effort in enterprise organisations .

Sameer Basha , Security Consultant , Check Point Software Technologies , Middle East , said organisations need continuous protection and will require the relevant skills and tools to do so . “ Training and certification in this area is key and will remain the focus as it is a critical aspect in addressing the global cyberskills shortage . Check Point Software recommends making use of some of its global initiatives that are in place to support this cause which includes a range of

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