THE World Economic Forum predicts that 85 million jobs globally will be displaced by 2025 due to the division of labour between humans and machines.
In Malaysia, it is forecasted that over two thirds of employment will be susceptible to automation, and close to seven million jobs are at risk due to digitalisation.
The majority of those impacted would be semi-skilled or low-skilled employees such as technicians, service workers and domestic workers.
On the other hand, the shift towards Industry 4.0 will result in increasing need for data scientists, cloud professionals and cybersecurity experts.
However, IMD's World Digital Competitiveness Ranking shows that Malaysia's digital readiness has declined. Its digital talent ranking dropped from 22 to 36 under the 'knowledge' factor.
A digital talent shortage is borne out by the number of digital job vacancies in Malaysia — the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) noted a fourfold increase in vacancies from 2020 to 2021.
Global consultancy Roland Berger estimates Malaysia will have a digital talent shortage of three million by 2030.
PRIORITISE HIGH-SKILLED DIGITAL ROLES
The main challenge companies face is the lack of talent in the local market.
While Malaysians are able to fill roles that require basic digital skills, there is a smaller pool of talent for jobs that require advanced knowledge like robotics and quantum computing.
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that more than 70 per cent of companies are looking for experienced or senior potential hires.
Roland Berger Southeast Asia co-managing partner, John Low, said: "With a looming digital talent shortage, highly skilled digital roles need to be prioritised as a key national agenda to achieve our national aspiration of becoming an advanced nation in the coming decade."
Greater awareness is needed to motivate individuals, businesses and organisations to prioritise digital skills development.
Skills gaps in the labour market need to be addressed through upskilling and reskilling programmes.
Malaysia's digital ecosystem – which now lacks high technology development and investment – also needs to grow in maturity to attract digital talent.
Low suggests strategies to nurture and develop Malaysia's digital talent:
- Active collaboration between the private and public sectors
- Education and training reorientation to improve graduate readiness
- Policymaking and monitoring to prioritise digital initiatives
- Building digital talent leadership within the government
Roland Berger Southeast Asia principal of economic development, Sulina Kaur, added: "Collaborative, prompt action by public and private sectors are essential to scale up opportunities for the building of Malaysia's digital talent."
Governments, companies or entities wishing to accelerate their digitalisation journey can find out more about Roland Berger's expertise on its website.