There’s probably a not great deal that can be done in the immediate short term to address the skills shortage: the number of say, experienced developers isn’t going to miraculously increase, genetic science isn’t going leap forward exponentially and let us clone the best of them any time soon(it’s something I’d happily invest in though).
So the lofty, more long term solution and more sustainable way I see this being solved is the much maligned word: education…

​What about education? Generally speaking the most gifted candidates I’ve encountered from juniors right through to highly accomplished architect level candidates are continually learning. It’s more often than not, the differentiator that separates a really good candidate from an exceptional one. Many years after some have finished their degrees they’re still enrolling, still learning. Yes, on the job experience is still going to be first prize for continuing to push the envelope but even the most highly skilled are still students, still learning. Some are going back and enrolling in classes and some are using resources that don’t have a building with classrooms which I believe are going to help revolutionise where a lot of the current and next generations of skilled labour are going to come from, on-line courses.

They’re nothing new – we’ve had them for more than 2 decades. What has changed since then is their availability, the way they’re presented, the variety of content that’s available etc. You don’t need to travel to one of the most lauded university’s on the planet to be taught 1st year Java by one of the world’s best professors at MIT. They’ve made each and every course he presented available for the world to watch and learn from. There are countless other examples (particularly in the development field) such as CodeAcademy which present numerous courses on everything from front end coding to server side languages. They’re revolutionising the way people look at education and, indeed, the accessibility to course material.

So where does this leave us now? Education has always existed, careers have always existed and in tandem with that will continue to morph and change with technology and social systems. What I believe this little on-line education revolution creates is opportunity. Opportunity for those with access to the internet, the possibility to forge a path into a role they might not have had access to many years ago. Opportunity for those who’d like to further expand their their skills set. Opportunity to bridge the gap as far as a big skills shortage is concerned and, finally, opportunity to help ourselves.

So, what was all the fuss about? Chances are, you’ve encountered a WordPress site (by my unscientific reckoning) at least once today. An open source phenomenon which has gone from an accessible blogging tool, to a full scale CMS, and now moving swiftly into the high paced world of eCommerce. Customizable and easy to use, WordPress is the world’s number one blogging system and a first port of call for many website builders the world over.

A gatherings of people, in these conditions is an interesting one to observe. Time is a currency so there’s got to be value in hanging around for a day. Every whim was catered for, whilst having ideas shared. People with the equivalent of ‘rockstar’ status in the industry delivered information to the masses in a manner which was both pertinent and entertaining. By virtue of the crowd interaction and sheer numbers, still present way past the witching hour of 3pm, I believe Wordcamp 2013 delivered successfully like so many other events that have graced this beautiful venue.

One after the other, speakers came up and held the audience captive. There barely seemed like a reprieve – the bar was raised and no one seemed all that keen to be the one who’d let it drop. I’d had this nasty idea that someone was going to be left stranded, somehow seem a bit ordinary and it didn’t happen. I guess it’s testimony to the kind of people that are associated with WordPress and this industry as a whole.

So what stood out? Even after Derick Watts and the Sunday Blues made it very difficult for the audience to not laugh, Rian van der Merrwe of Flow Interactive delivered an impeccable speech which had most of the audience nodding in unison when not madly scribbling away on their notepads taking in as much of his wisdom as they were able to. From there on out, people from far and wide (eg Gauteng and US of A) made their way up on to stage to deliver their speeches with similar aplomb.

I guess it’s not fair to single out people for delivering great speeches, but I think the two that had people captivated from the time they uttered their first words till their conclusions were Chris Lema of Emphasys Software and Cape Town’s own Marlon Parker of RLabs & Mxit Reach. There’s something so satisfying about watching people who are able to use words in a powerful manner, to keep an entire crowd hanging on their last word and to find so much resonance with the entire room – seems that the pitch outside wasn’t the only place where rockstars were found.

And then all of sudden, it was over. People didn’t sprint out the venue, people weren’t yawning – people were happy, pumped-up and conversing. It may have been the promise of the after party but I think it was more to do with a very successful and very inspiring Wordcamp.