Closing the skills gap - A study of the ICT-sector and the higher education system in Mauritius

Abstract

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is expanding rapidly in many parts of the world. In Mauritius, the demand for skilled labour in ICT exceeds the supply. This mismatch between supply and demand has given rise to a skills gap in the Mauritian labour market. The aim of this study is to depict the current skills gap between the demand of skilled labour from the ICT-sector and the supply of skilled labour from the higher education system. The main challenges in closing the skills gap between the ICT-sector and the higher education system will be examined further. The study was performed as a Minor Field Study (MFS) in Mauritius during April to June 2022. It consists of two parts, one qualitative part in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten relevant individuals from the ICT-field in Mauritius. The study also includes a quantitative part consisting of secondary data analysis used to depict the skills gap. The results from the data analysis indicate that there is a mismatch between demand in terms of vacancies in the ICT-sector and the supply of ICT graduates. Furthermore, the main challenges in closing the skills gap were identified from the interviews. The ICT-education being too theoretical and that the ICT-sector is changing rapidly, were found to be the most prominent challenges. As a result of these findings, the study concludes that the skills gap exists both in quantitative and in qualitative terms.