Software developer shortage transcends international boundaries

Reid noted that children love technology-related classes in school, but don't show the same enthusiasm for learning how to program. Attracting children to programming as they get older is challenging because they tend to avoid the discipline since they don't understand it, he said. Governments, he continued, can help remedy this by adding programming courses early in the education process.

"What young children have is no fear. They're not born with the ability to code. They need to learn technology," said Cleary.

In Massachusetts, the state's public schools introduce science and technology curriculum in the fourth grade and especially try to pique interest of girls, said Therese Murray, president of the state Senate.

"Starting from schools is really the answer," said Marwan Abdulaziz, executive director of TECOM Investments' Science Cluster, which operates a Dubai business park for life sciences companies and another for businesses in the alternative energy and environmental industries.

Employee retention is a challenge in Dubai since many United Arab Emirates workers are expatriates who plan on returning to their home nations in five to 10 years, he said. To counter this issue, the country is looking to develop a tech workforce from its native population.