In Latin America, jobs are in danger due to the crisis caused by COVID-19. However, the situation for web developers is quite different.
In early October 2019, an ILO report estimated that about 34 million jobs had already been lost due to the crisis caused by COVID-19. Likewise, revenues have contracted by 19.3%, a figure that exceeds the world average. Women and young people are the segments most affected by the situation.
However, these figures are far from affecting e-commerce, which this year has accelerated its expansion in the region, and about this fact, we have several signs.
E-commerce expands in Latin America
In Q3 Amazón opened several new warehouses in Mexico, near the country’s largest metropolitan centers (Guadalajara, Monterrey, and the State of Mexico) with an investment of 100 million dollars. MercadoLibre did the same in the second-largest economy in the region, with two distribution and storage centers.
At the beginning of last month, MercadoLibre also opened distribution centers in Chile. The largest Latin American company has partnered with the Chilean company Red Megacentro to build and lease a distribution center that will have 100,000 M2 of extension.
Perhaps the creation of logistics centers is not the best indicator of growth in the sector, but the data provided by the venture capital firm Atlantico are, which pointed out that in just ten weeks between March and May of this year, the e-Commerce grew more than in the last ten years.
From traditional companies to small businesses in Latin America, they have been forced to migrate quickly to electronic commerce to survive the social distancing measures that limit their income from direct sales. The Walmart Foundation together with the Proempleo Foundation launched its #ReemprendeDigital course to provide training to Mexican entrepreneurs and SMEs that they need to make their way into electronic commerce and digitize their businesses.
The Most Wanted Skills in Web Developers in 2020
This urgent business needs to rapidly adopt new technologies also expands the job market for web developers. But what knowledge are developers looking for in this new landscape?
Linkedin Global Senior Mangar for End User Services, Ashi Sheth, highlighted these five fastest-growing skills in the information technology sector: Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, Analytical Skills, SCRUM, and Information Security. Scott Carey from Infoworld, mentions the rise in demand for React, as well as the search for Full-Stack Developers companies, who must master the Front-End (HTML / CSS) and the Back-End (Node, React, Python, Ruby, etc).
For data analysis, tools like Apache Kafka or Spark, languages like Python and R, or skills in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are highly appreciated.