Govt should prioritise upskilling in digital technology

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should prioritise upskilling, especially in digital technology, in order to embrace Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Talent and Digital Entrepreneurship vice-president Sumitra Nair suggested that more funds should be allocated for upskilling of existing workforce in Budget 2020.

“We hope the government will allocate (more) or at least give more focus to upskilling of existing workforce because technology is changing jobs, so people need to be continuously reskilled,” she told Bernama, when met at the #mydigitalmaker Fair 2019 here.

She said digital disruption was creating new job opportunities, citing the World Economic Forum’s prediction that 65 per cent of the people today would work in jobs that had yet to exist and most of these required digital skills.

In addition to allocation from the government, Sumitra stressed that mindset shifts of the people were crucial to fully grasp the digital transformation era.

“Many of us who have graduated from university or have a job think that this is sufficient. We have a job today and think that is going to last forever and we do not bother to upskill.

“Even if the government wants to give incentives, there may not be people to do the job, so we need to figure out ways to create the right mindset to spur lifelong learning,” she said.

On the #mydigitalmaker Fair, Sumitra said the fair this year also featured cybersecurity, digital agriculture and data science.

The #mydigitalmaker movement which was mooted three years ago was aimed at piloting new, innovative ideas for communities, starting with the children in schools to equip them with the right mindset and skills set to remain relevant in the future workforce.

She also hoped that a school system for future innovators would be established to nurture tech-savvy children and to cultivate talents through the system. – BERNAMA