DIGITAL technologies are rapidly transforming industries and organisations and the demand for skilled professionals has increased dramatically during the pandemic as many expedited the shift—moving interactions online and the cloud.
To better understand this rapidly-evolving workforce landscape, Amazon Web Services (AWS) commissioned the strategy and economics consulting firm AlphaBeta to examine the skills needs of organisations across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea.
The study, which was conducted in August 2021 surveyed 7,193 digitally skilled workers in both technology and non-technology roles, and 2,166 employers across the region, with representation from public, private, and nonprofit sectors of different sizes and industries.
Presenting the highlights of the report, "Building Digital Skills for the Changing Workforce" at a virtual briefing session was AlphaBeta director for APAC, Genevieve Lim, shared that collectively, the countries will need to train an estimated 86 million more workers over the next year in digital skills to keep pace with technological advancements – equivalent to 14 per cent of current total workforce.
The report also shows the critical need for workers and employers to increase digital skills knowledge and maximise the benefits of technology with insights that provides examples for how governments, employers, training providers, and the technology industry can come together to meet this challenge.
The report says workers understand the need for digital skills with 88 per cent saying they needed more digital skills to cope with changes in their jobs due to the pandemic. Sixty-four per cent of the respondents felt they would require training in cloud-related skills by 2025 to progress in their careers.
Although 97 per cent of surveyed organisations recognised the need to train their workers in digital skills, only 29 per cent have implemented plans to do so.
The report demonstrates that digital skills training benefits employers as 85 per cent of organisations in the region stated that digital skills training has helped fast-track digitisation goals, while 90 per cent saw a lift in employee satisfaction, and 88 per cent said it improved employee productivity.
Besides that, the report also finds that 93 per cent of organisations and workers faced barriers to accessing the digital skills they needed. The two most common barriers are the limited awareness of training options available and a lack of time to pursue training. This shows a training shortfall, which could hinder growth in the workforce and entire economies.
The report's findings demonstrate the urgency for new skills while pinpointing the industry areas that will be in highest demand.
Cloud adoption has become a critical part of organisations' digital transformation process, given the ease, flexibility, and scalability that the cloud offers.
According to Lim, among training gaps and needs, cloud computing and cybersecurity rank top two among 10 urgently needed skills listed in the report, reflecting the rapid adoption of cloud technology across the region.
The top 10 in-demand skills include advanced cloud computing abilities like cloud architecture design and the ability to migrate on-premises infrastructure to the cloud.
As more organisations transition to the cloud, the need to maintain the trust grows. This means organisations need to uphold the highest levels of security, prevent data loss, and comply with data privacy regulations—making cybersecurity as the second most in-demand skills area, with specific requirements for skills in developing and deploying protocols and tools for digital ethics and security.
According to AlphaBeta, if these countries are to meet the goal of training the number of skilled workers that organisations need, governments, training providers, and employers must work together.
For governments, AlphaBeta recommends promoting high-demand digital skills courses through online training portals, while employers can leverage no-cost industry training courses to upskill their workers. For instance, the Skill Finder portal in Australia connects the Australian workforce and small- to medium-sized businesses to digital skills training courses. The platform contains over 1,000 digital micro-skills courses developed by leading technology companies like AWS.
Representing AWS at the virtual briefing was AWS head of training and certification, Asean, Emmanuel Pillai who shared insights on how the company is breaking down barriers to solve the skill shortage.
"We have trained over 3.5 million individuals across Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) with cloud skills since 2017, including over 100,000 individuals in Singapore and over 300,000 individuals in Indonesia," presented Pillai.
For employers, AWS helps build digital skills within their teams through programmes like AWS Skills Guild, a comprehensive skills enablement programme that builds cloud fluency. It has been rolled out with customers like the National Australia Bank (NAB), Korean Air, and Globe Telecom.
The report recommends that training providers should work with technology experts, such as those from educational institutions and technology companies, to develop courses that meet industry standards.
"In collaboration with the Singapore Government, AWS developed a national workforce development programme called Cloud Ready SG with AWS – a holistic digital and cloud technology skilling programme curated for Singaporeans across segments.
"From new graduates and early career workers to mid- career professionals, the intent of this programme is to drive inclusive growth in training the current and future workforce in Singapore," said Pillai adding that governments can work with industry to develop training courses to upskill workers to broaden their employment opportunities and bridge skills gaps.
One of the report's key findings is the need to provide training to underserved communities, including women, at-risk youth, unemployed individuals, rural communities, and low-skilled migrant workers, as these groups tend to face greater challenges in accessing digital skills training opportunities.
AWS believes that the opportunities in digital careers should be accessible to anyone with a willingness to learn, which is why we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to provide no-cost training worldwide as part of our effort to help 29 million people globally grow their technical skills by 2025.
Pillai said that anyone with an Internet connection and with a desire to learn can access AWS' programmes such as AWS Skills Builder, a digital learning experience available in 16 languages including Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean with more than 500 no-cost on-demand courses.
"We are also working with educational institutions across the Asia-Pacific region – like the Department of Education of Western Australia, Dong-A University in South Korea, Indonesia's Ministry of Education and Culture, Singapore's Ministry of Education, and Malaysia's Ministry of Higher Education, to transform course delivery, enhance the student experience, and improve learning outcomes.
"Another training initiative, AWS re/Start, is a no-cost, full-time, 12-week course that uses real-world, scenario-based exercises, labs, and coursework to build skills and workforce opportunities for unemployed or underemployed people who are seeking a career in cloud computing. AWS re/Start is available in over 39 countries globally, including Australia, New Zealand, India, and Malaysia," said Pillai.
In a blog by AWS' regional managing director for Worldwide Public Sector in Asia Pacific and Japan, Peter Moore, shared that in SouthEast Asia, AWS's Education to Workforce (E2W) team runs a hackathon called Build On, an annual hackathon for students and cloud enthusiasts with coding skills in Southeast Asia that attracts thousands of registrants each year.
"At the hackathons, participants create technological initiatives and solutions to address challenges faced by the participating sponsors. Build On's top winners have received internship offers from National University Health System (NUHS) and Versent. The annual nationwide hackathon is held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan," said Moore.
As organisations continue to digital transform at an accelerating rate, investing in digital skills training has become an imperative for achieving goals.
In order to build a diverse and ready workforce, governments, training providers, and employers must work together to provide more accessible and targeted skills training.
"Our goal is to help people—from beginners to seasoned IT professionals—gain new cloud computing skills, and we are committed to collaborating with industry and governments to solve the digital skills shortage by encouraging a culture of lifelong learning," said Moore.