PUTRAJAYA: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry will continue to review all existing initiatives as well as come up with new and pertinent policies to ensure Malaysia is always ahead of the competition when it comes to tech talent development, said its minister Gobind Singh Deo.
“(My) ministry is very serious about the tech talent development agenda,” he said at the launch of the Data Futures Forum 2019: Shaping our Future Together — Towards a Data Enabled Society, at the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Campus here yesterday.
Gobind pointed out that one of the more critical areas in Malaysia’s journey as a developing nation was talent.
“As a key enabler of IR4.0 (Fourth Industrial Revolution), it is critical that we prepare a strong talent pipeline to harness the socio-economic opportunities that come with digitalisation and smart technologies,” he said.
Citing the Frost and Sullivan’s Digital Talent Report commissioned by Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) in 2017, he said Malaysia’s digital talent demand was expected to grow by 15 percent annually that would require more than 540,000 jobs by 2020.
“Digital talents are already in high demand at present and looks to grow even more in years to come,” he added.
“The World Economic Forum estimates that whilst 75 million existing roles may decline by 2022, it was also projected that 133 million new roles will emerge as smart technologies disrupt most if not all industries,” he said.
He noted that these emerging roles were related to data science, artificial intelligence (AI), software development, digital transformation and cybersecurity.
“My ministry understands the pressing need to future-proof our digital talents and is addressing the digital talent agenda via MDEC, which has been at the forefront of tech talent development and nurturing for several years now,” said Gobind. – Bernama
