Analysis of future demand for Sri Lankan ICT undergraduates in ICT industry: Mapping the ACM/IEEE computing degrees with emerging technologies

Abstract

Sri Lanka is famous for its agricultural economy, but in recent years it is slowly shifting towards a knowledge-based economy. In a knowledge-based economy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry plays a critical role in increasing productivity and economic growth. This sector has generated numerous new job opportunities, led to increased export profits, and attracted international investors for investment. Present Sri Lankan ICT industry consists of over 600 companies [1]. According to reports from Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies, the demand for the ICT sector has increased in recent years. The increase in demand for the ICT sector led to the creation of many ICT job opportunities as well as the opening of new ICT degree-awarding training institutes in Sri Lanka [2]. Government universities, private degree awarding institutes, government vocational and tertiary training institutes, and private diploma and certificate awarding training institutes are major categories of institutions that offer various degree programs in ICT disciplines [3]. According to SLASSCOM, there are fourteen job categories in the present-day ICT industry. Because of this reason undergraduates are unable to choose the most suitable ICT degree program according to the job demand. This research provides the solution for the above problem. The main objective of this research is to analyze the future demand for Sri Lankan ICT undergraduates in the ICT industry. This study will be of great help for undergraduates to choose the ICT discipline according to the demand of the job market. The future demand for ICT graduates in the ICT industry is examined in this research based on ACM/IEEE computing disciplines [4]. The secondary data for this research were collected from the National IT-BPM workforce survey and the university grant commission website. Finally, undergraduates can choose the best path in the ICT field by knowing the most demanding technologies in the ICT industry.