How Uruguay Could Help Both Latinos And The Alleged ‘Tech Shortage’ In The US

As the Latinx community continues to represent a significant and growing percentage of both the US workforce and the country’s business owners, they are shaping up to be a major force in the future of the economy, according to reports.

But over the past five years, tech and science jobs in the United States have outnumbered qualified workers by roughly 3 million.

And according to a recent study – the next decade could see a global shortage of more than 85 million tech workers, representing $8.5 trillion in lost annual revenue.

In the US, that number can be 6 million workers.

But researchers believe that Uruguay, also dubbed “The Silicon Valley of South America,” is the key to the solution.

The prosperous country is being pushed forward by Camara Uruguaya de Tecnologías de la Información (The Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology, a nonprofit organization that helps drive the development and growth of Uruguay’s tech industry.   

“We work in different international markets around the world,” said Leonardo Loureiro, President of CUTI, in an interview with AL DÍA.

It currently represents nearly 400 companies that sell products and services to more than 50 markets across 5 continents, generating 3.4% of Uruguay’s GDP and more than 15,000 jobs. 

It is also the largest software exporter per capita in South America, with 70% of it going to the US.

With an estimated 4.65 million Latino-owned businesses in the US, there is a lot of available opportunities to tap into.

According to local media Al Dia, if the US takes advantage of both the tech industry and the value of Latino talent, the relationship with Uruguay can go a long way.

The outlet believes that a partnership with Uruguay and other thriving tech hubs can offer a lot of long-term benefits to the alleged tech shortage.