Low-Code: A strategy for social inclusion
According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), unemployment, in simplified terms, refers to people of working age (over 14) who are not working, but are available and trying to find work. Thus, for someone to be considered unemployed, it is not enough not to have a job.
For example, according to the methodology used by the IBGE in the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua), school-age teenagers, university students who only dedicate themselves to their studies, housewives who don't work outside the home and pensioners are people who are not in the labor force and therefore don't make it into the official unemployment statistics.
In the PNAD, what is popularly known as "unemployment" appears in the concept of "unoccupied". Currently, the official unoccupied rate in Brazil is 8%, representing a contingent of more than 8.6 million people, distributed heterogeneously across the regions. This rate is as high as 11.3% in the Northeast, and drops to 4.7% in the South of the country.
Adding the 3.7 million Brazilians categorized as "discouraged", referring to those people who would like to work and would be available, but haven't looked for work because they didn't think they would find it, the rate of people without jobs in Brazil rises to even higher numbers.
In fact, even disregarding all those people who are categorized as out of the workforce, the underutilization rate in Brazil reaches an alarming 17.4%.
If on the one hand there is a lack of jobs, at least in the area of information technology there is a huge talent shortage crisis, making the workforce a complicating factor in the digital transformation agenda for 2 out of 3 companies, according to a recent study by Gartner. That's why Brasscomm, back in 2021, projected a shortfall of more than half a million talents in the area by 2025, here in Brazil alone.
With more than 55% of higher education students dropping out before completing their course, according to a study conducted by SEMESP from 2017 to 2021 here in Brazil, it is very clear that vocational education, through short courses, and aimed at the accelerated and specialized training of talents for the information technology market, is a great alternative for the inclusion of more people in the job market, not only here in Brazil, but worldwide.
This is where Low-Code development platforms can be used as a strategy for rapid social inclusion. As this type of technology is at the heart of all types of projects linked to the digital transformation agenda, it is a fact that the demand for professionals with this knowledge is only set to increase, and at a higher rate than other technologies. Gartner itself estimates that by 2025 more than 70% of all applications developed in the world will be running on Low-Code platforms.
Low-Code platforms, such as OutSystems', the world reference in this technology, because they contain a friendly visual development interface, provide a series of pre-developed and reusable components, benefit from the use of artificial intelligence assistants to guide the entire creation process, and also have a gigantic community of developers, the learning curve is substantially lower than that observed in other technologies.
Combined with agile project delivery methodologies and task distribution and control tools, even talented beginners can be engaged in application development projects, contributing to the delivery of more than 80% of activities and already bringing immediate returns to their employers.
As Low-Code platforms allow development to be done remotely, literally from anywhere that has access to an internet connection, their increased adoption can help us target the increase in social inclusion in an orderly manner, focusing first on those regions where there are a greater number of unemployed people, such as in the North and Northeast of Brazil, and gradually extending to other regions, or even prioritizing certain minority groups.
The adoption of Low-Code platforms as a strategy for social inclusion is good for the whole ecosystem: for companies, which find a way to accelerate their digital transformation agenda almost immediately, demanding more and more talent to support their growth; for manufacturers, who see an increase in the number of people who know and spread their technology; for universities, since more than 80% of higher education vacancies are offered through the private sector, demanding students with the financial capacity to pay for their studies; for unemployed and discouraged people, who soon have access to starting salaries that are already higher than the national average, allowing them to prosper and live a full life; and for society, which, by reducing underutilization rates, helps to include thousands of people in the job market, increases income distribution, activates local economies, and renews hopes of a better future for all.
Although the problem of unemployment is a very complex issue to resolve, it is certain that the solutions will inevitably have to involve joint and organized action from various areas of our society. Tackling this problem no longer orbits in the realm of possibilities, but in that of duties. Already today, the entire ecosystem around the area of information technology, specifically through the adoption of Low-Code platforms and the promotion of focused, short vocational courses, can make a substantial contribution to tackling this problem. We can't wait any longer.