A skills framework in the context of a digital ecosystem: an engine for social inclusion in developing countries

Abstract

Colombia has experienced a remarkable economic expansion in recent times, but it is still a country with a high level of inequality. The Gini index evidenced that fact with 51.3% in 2019, which shows that Colombia has one of the highest levels of inequality in Latin America, particularly in certain regions. Furthermore, in 2020, 42.5% of the population lived in poverty, around 21.02 million individuals, and this figure increased by 3.6 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These levels are similar to those recorded 20 years ago (Balakrishnan et al., 2021). Besides, Colombia experienced a peak unemployment rate of 43% during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. By the end of that year, the rate had decreased to 15.9%, but this still represents an increase of 1.3 million people who were unemployed compared to 2019. Colombia has pursued the transformation of its commodity-based economic system to knowledge based assets; therefore, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are essential to foster the economic growth of the country and also play an essential role in meeting the sustainable development objectives proposed by the United Nations (Bogdan-Martin, 2017; United Nations, 2018; United Nations, 2015; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2018). Several ICT applications have been implemented to reduce the gaps among individuals, including the use of Big Data to analyze marginalized communities, improve government services, provide farmers with relevant information, promote education and telemedicine, facilitate the purchase and sale of goods and services, offer financial services, and foster collaborative networks (Bauer, 2018, p. 6; Bogdan-Martin, 2017; Nielsen et al., 2018). Governments invest significant budgets in infrastructure such as Internet and computers to achieve this aim. Nonetheless, some Latin American do not achieve the same outcomes as developed nations. According to the ICTs Development Index, the highest-ranked Latin American country is Uruguay at the 42nd place, followed by Argentina (51st) and Chile (56th) (International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2017b). In the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking of 2019, out of 63 economies, Chile ranked 42nd, Mexico ranked 49th, Brazil ranked 57th, Colombia ranked 58th and Argentina ranked 59th (Brits and Cabolis, 2019) Internet is crucial in aspects such as the acquisition of new and improved skills, better employment opportunities, and the expansion of productive activities (ITU, 2017a; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2016b, p. 8; ITU, 2018a). The Internet also plays a crucial role in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship because it promotes information sharing, stimulates the creation of new businesses, facilitates the commercialization of new ideas, and explores new sources of income (OECD, 2016b, p. 9).