Digitalization Is the Future of Rapidly Changing Industries

"Jobs Now: Going digital during COVID-19", organized by the international non-governmental organization SPARK with the contributionsof the Qatar Development Fund (QFFD), was held online. In the meeting, besides the digitalization opportunities that will pave the way for immigrant SMEs, entrepreneurs and students, future trends and the importance of digitalization for different industries were discussed in detail.

SPARK’s CEO Yannick Du Pont said, “Although the worldwide pandemic affects our lives deeply, we are going through a period of learning more about technology in our daily and business lives. We do our jobs by using opportunities offered by technology too, and digitalization is the future of all sectors. As SPARK, we will continue to support entrepreneurs, students and SMEs to keep up with the transformation in the digitalizing to keep their strengths during these challenging period””.

SPARK, an international non-governmental development organisation, working to create pathways for young people to rebuild their future, organized an important conference with the support of the Qatar Development Fund (QFFD), a public development institution committed, on behalf of the State of Qatar, to implement external aid projects.

While “Going digital during COVID-19” bringing together national and international business leaders, the advantages of digitalization were discussed in details for SMEs, entrepreneurs and students who want to invest in different sectors.

Digitalization sets the future route in tough times

The conference, started with the opening speech and moderation of SPARK's Founder & CEO Yannick Du Pont, and continued with two separate sessions. Speakers attending the panel “Scale-up: Accelerating Digital Jobs” shared the companies' transition to the digital world during the pandemic period, their support and effort in this field. In the panel of "Match-up: Jobs and Markets", it was emphasized that The COVID-19 crisis disproportionately affects those from more vulnerable backgrounds, such as immigrant youth. Therefore this period also offers new opportunities such as online education and training.

Virtual internships are great alternatives

In the panel "Start-up: Entrepreneurship in times of crisis", it was pointed out that start-ups are essential triggers for innovation and economic growth in times of crises. Crises also reduce the creation, challenge the survival and limit the growth of start-ups. During the session, it was emphasized that the global number of business registrations has been dropping significantly in recent months. These short-term challenges can be tackled by supporting new and existing start-ups.

In the “Skill-up: Distant and online learning and education” panel, which is another paralel session, the necessity of bridging the existing gap between existing curricula provided by educational institutions and the skills needed by employers has been discussed. It was emphasized in times in which physical internships have become difficult, or even impossible, virtual internships are great alternatives.