Crypto Industry Direly Needs Specialized Education, Says Ripple Exec

Cryptocurrency firm Ripple’s head of social impact Ken Weber is confident that universities around the world must expand their education programs to offer blockchain and digital assets training courses that directly relate to actual roles in the industry.

Blockchain workforce demand exceeds the supply

Weber addressed the lack of qualified blockchain workforce and relevant education resources in an interview with OpenAccessGovernment published on Aug. 20. He also cited a report which suggests that “there’s been a 517% increase in demand for software engineers with blockchain development skills in the past year,” but “demand is far outweighing supply.” Weber clarified:

“A large part of the issue is that companies need two types of blockchain professionals. Firstly, they need engineers who possess a deep understanding of the technologies and can implement changes immediately. Secondly, they need to fill non-technical roles with senior employees who can make decisions involving the application of blockchain to business objectives. To do this, however, these employees need a working knowledge of the technology. The industry has a well-documented, yet growing skills gap that must be fixed.”

Blockchain courses should be more specific

Weber stated that while over 40% of the world’s top 50 universities offer at least one blockchain or crypto class, they are tied to different disciplines such as law, engineering, mathematics and business administration. To solve this problem, Weber notes, universities have to offer courses that relate to actual roles in the industry.

Weber also thinks that companies in the industry should engage with their academic counterparts to help workforce formation, noting that only 38% of businesses are currently doing it.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, blockchain accelerator MouseBelt launched a blockchain education initiative at three University of California campuses.