A new vintage of trained computer specialists left DCDM Business School a few days ago to join the job market. They have acquired skills that are industry-based and very practical; so they should have no real problem in getting job offers. Don?t statistics show that 86% of those who completed their Advanced Diploma last year at DCDM Business School have already found employment?

The initial decision they took in enrolling for this professional diploma in ICT is proof of their foresight. And I would like to think also of their readiness to take risks. I say foresight because, in spite of the odds, they surely believe Mauritius has a future in ICT. Or at least, as graduates, they think they can chart their way in what is the world?s fastest growing industry. They are right.

Talents in ICT are welcome the world over, in North America as in Europe, in Asia as in Africa. Programmers, systems administrators, systems analysts are in great demand. Even in a country like India, it is believed that the ICT sector will face a shortfall of more than 250 000 knowledge workers in the next four years. The shortage of trained personnel is even more acute in the United States. So much so that US enterprises are busy recruiting thousands of Indian graduates every year when they are not delocating their activities to India, China or the Philippines. The same applies to Europe.

I have also mentioned that our graduates are probably risk takers. They have made their choice of professional training partly because of all the ballyhoo they have heard about Mauritius becoming a cyberisland. There is, in fact, a real possibility of Mauritius developing as an IT Centre. But there are chances of failure as well. This is an area where there is a very high risk of technological obsolescence. This is a sector that demands a very strong management of human resources and continued personal upgrading of skills. Because of our very low output of trained personal, one of our comparative advantages, that is our relatively cheap labour, can soon vanish. And make of IT a migratory industry as textile is. Even India, in spite of its large pool of professionals and its head-start in ICT, is already facing strong competition from China, a much less talked about destination of IT activities but a fast growing sector nonetheless. China is rapidly expanding its ICT sector relying upon a large pool of trained technology graduates, excellent infrastructure, strong government support and a well-developed domestic ICT sector. Experts believe that, in the next three years, China will match India by pulling in US $ 27 billion for IT services, including call centres and back office work.

This growing competition between the major players, the increasing role of China, but also of Russia and the Philippines, now considered to be alternate destinations to India in offshoring of ICT projects and business processes, is an added opportunity for Mauritius.

As India fights to keep its global leadership ? the growth rate in ICT has already slowed significantly ? Indian firms are looking for new export markets. The ongoing debate is about the need for India to diversify its customer base both across countries and sectors. So far, the Indian ICT sector has relied heavily upon one market ? the USA. America represents nearly 70% of total Indian software markets. Large areas of the world have not been exploited by Indian companies, in particular the French speaking markets (Indian software exports to France amount to less than 1% of its total exports). This is a major growth area and it is where Mauritius comes in, provided we do the right things, which we have only just started to do.

The assets of Mauritius are real and have been clearly identified. We have a service-oriented economy, a bilingual capability, a favourable time zone with Europe and the USA, access to European markets, competitive double-taxation agreements with many countries and we are politically and geographically close to African markets. What we should do to capitalise on our assets is what the DCDM Business School is doing but it should be done on a much larger scale.

We should train many more Mauritians. We are not going anywhere unless we develop a critical mass of ICT professionals, a critical ?mess? for that matter. The State should actively support private business schools offering ICT training courses. We need programming language training institutes. We need to expose Mauritians to the ICT culture in a much more focused way. Starting from primary school. It?s a pity we have not been able to properly manage the IT school project. Education and training are not about putting up buildings. It?s the content that matters. Although we must admit that a lot has been done in terms of equipping the nation with the necessary infrastructure and setting up the regulatory framework, many hurdles have been placed in the way of private initiatives be it in training or commercial activities.

In view of our weaknesses in terms of human resources, we have no choice. We need to import foreign professionals from India or elsewhere. In the old economy, we used to offer all sorts of incentives to investors because we needed their money. We now need to attract skills. We should offer personal incentives to ICT professionals prepared to start a business here big or small. We are fascinated by the very large Indian firms, by the likes of Infosys. We are, in fact, missing the point. Indian ICT companies are primarily small businesses. There are only five Indian companies with turnovers above US $ 200 million. The development of the Indian ICT sector has been based on small and medium size enterprises exporting software and services ? nearly 65% of exports. ICT-enabled services including business process outsourcing accounts for 20%.

We should therefore review our strategy. Our graduates should perhaps review theirs. Look for partners. Be their own bosses. Small is beautiful. Of course, the government is wise in trying to attract some big names in the sector. They can be powerful marketing engines for Mauritius. We must offer them all the facilities they need, tax incentives, access to financing, and the rest. But, at the same time, we should attract foreign individual professionals prepared to take the risk of starting their own businesses and, in so doing, transferring knowledge and know-how. The scope is wide. ICT can be viewed as an enterprise output - a small business producing hardware, software and telecommunication products - or as primary processing technology providing data entry services, software customisation, distance learning. It can also be ICT-related support activities.

Experts believe the global trends in business and technology, for the next few years, will favour low cost countries. The thinking is that pressures on business globally to increase productivity and improve returns on capital will accelerate. The search for cost efficiency in ICT spending will drive the move towards outsourcing of ICT projects to low cost countries. By the end of this year, the global BPO market is expected to be over US$ 300 billion. Research quoted by Business Week predicts that at least 3.3 million white-collar jobs will shift from the US alone to low- cost countries by 2015. This is tremendous news for IT graduates. I hope that DCDM Business School has also given them the drive to do their own things.

I like the advice of Charles Handy who said: ?The great excitement of the future is that we can shape it?. Indeed we can. In his essay entitled Finding sense is uncertainty, Handy explained: ?The way you make sense of the future, in organisation as in societies and in your own life, is by taking charge of the future. Not by responding to it?.

The idea the author of The age of Unreason has developed is that you should not wait for people to offer you secure jobs and long careers. You have to decide what kind of life you want to lead and go out and make it happen. As he says: ?The world is up for grabs. That?s both frightening and yet very exciting?. So get ready for the excitement of the new world.