Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) recently concluded a Digital Talent Survey, which showed that companies are focused on reskilling and upskilling their employees in digital technologies and applications.
The MDEC Digital Talent Survey 2021 revealed that 48 percent of companies in the country adopted digital tech platforms for day-to-day operations this year compared to 19 percent in 2020 because of the pandemic.
With this shift, 85 percent of companies surveyed recognise the need to reskill their employees with a shift in focus from digital productivity and remote working skills to technical skills such as data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital marketing, and software development.
At the MDEC’s Digital Talent CEO Roundtable held during the Malaysia Tech Month, industry leaders provided valuable insights on the local digital talent landscape. There was a consensus that companies are increasingly prioritising skills over academic qualifications.
Francesca Chia, Co-Founder of GoGet, says the company tended to recruit more fresh hires from coding academies or training centres rather than fresh graduates from universities. Alejandro Kikuchi, Head of Asia for Workana, also says that companies that were unable to source or recruit suitably qualified talents were hiring freelancers, contract, or remote workers.
Henrick Choo, CEO of NTT MSC, notes that the salary growth of digital talents was much steeper than non-digital talents as the experience level grew, even though entry-level salaries may be similar for both digital and non-digital roles.
For Dr Sumitra Nair, MDEC’s Vice President and Head of Digital Skills and Jobs, in line with MDEC’s vision to create shared prosperity amongst all Malaysians, “MDEC is committed to empowering Malaysians with the necessary skills to succeed in an increasingly digitalised economy. In this regard, the MDEC Digital Talent CEO Roundtable is an important platform to ensure alignment of our efforts with industry requirements.”
