The theme for this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting was "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World". During four intensive days in Davos, government and business leaders discussed what a shared future means for everyone and engaged in debate as to how we can achieve it.
Martin Mackay, president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan, CA Technologies
Participants discussed the impact, challenges and solutions for a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) to the disruption to the status quo; from the next financial crisis to gender inequality in the workforce. And, among all the topics discussed, reskilling the workforce and preparing the next generation for the technology-shaped future were recurring themes.
The consensus among Asia Pacific government and business leaders is this: having talents with the right digital skill sets will be the cornerstone to success in the technology-shaped future.
The world is changing -- thanks to technology: Today, we stand on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution where unprecedented socio-economic changes to our economy, jobs and personal lives will be the hallmarks of this era. In fact, we are already seeing upheavals in the business landscape.
Across all industries, there are large numbers of jobs -- ranging from telemarketers to paralegals -- that are likely to change radically or disappear in the future due to the disruption driven by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation. It is predicted that there will be a net loss of five million jobs in 15 major developed and emerging economies globally due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is no exaggeration to say that the job landscape of tomorrow will be almost unrecognisable, and many of the skills and knowledge that our workforce value today will be rendered obsolete.
However, despite the possible consequences of technological advancements, technology can be a potent force for good -- bringing about higher quality of life and access to better economic opportunities. In short, there is no reason why the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution should not dramatically outweigh the downsides, exactly as was the case for its three predecessors.
For businesses, the benefits that technologies such as cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and automation bring are already well-established facts. While on the horizon, technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing will be the next big disruptors. The potential of technology is boundless: driving efficiency, creating value, reinventing medicine and mapping climate change. The boon it can bring will be far-reaching, profound and, quite possibly, unimaginable today.
Unlocking the future by reskilling the current workforce: However, to bring out the best of what technology has to offer, both governments and businesses need to work together to ensure that they have a diverse and digitally skilled workforce that is capable of taking on the new jobs of the future.
In Asia, 48% of employers were already having difficulty filling vacancies in 2015, compared to 28% in 2006. And across many industries, the most in-demand occupations today, such as data scientist, did not exist 10 or even five years ago. This situation is expected to be exacerbated as technology developments continue to accelerate.
To address this situation, enterprises need to first recognise that there is an economic win-win situation to be realised if they invest adequately to reskill today's workforce for jobs in technology.
First, reskilling strategies will be critical for organisations if they are to find the talent they need to fill critical, technology-related positions such as developers, network engineers and cybersecurity experts. This will ensure that they will continue to have the capabilities to effectively and securely leverage technologies and software to raise productivity, innovate and create new revenue streams. Commitments from businesses to enable individuals to manage changing career requirements can engender trust and generate considerable goodwill towards these companies.
Second, reskilling opens up more career pathways and clears a way to a better life for a large number of workers who are at risk of being marginalised by technological advancements. Without reskilling, only 2% of workers will have an optimal opportunity to make a transition to new jobs in today's increasing digitised world.
Getting the next generation future-ready: Although the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the current workforce is already tremendous, its effects on future generations will be even more profound. It is estimated that 65% of children who enter primary school today will work in completely new jobs that do not currently exist.
To anticipate future skills requirements and ensure a long-term, sustainable pipeline of talent able to fully seize the opportunities in the digital economy, the private sector must take the lead in enabling the workforce to be prepared for new jobs and new models of economic production.
One of the most effective approaches is for companies to invest in every stage of the education pipeline, from early childhood to young adult. After all, learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and digital skills, such as computer science and coding, is the most important step that students -- our future workforce -- can take to prepare themselves to fully participate in, and benefit from, the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The lessons that an individual can learn through these subjects are much more than technical knowledge and skills (although these are key). What is also valuable is that these subjects teach creativity, computational thinking, teamwork and complex problem-solving -- fundamental skills that will be needed in any sector in the digital era.
This should not be a surprise as predictable, repetitive and even analytical functions are being increasingly automated and outsourced to technology. The hardest activities to replace are complex tasks that involve decision-making, planning, collaboration and creative work. These are the skills that businesses will need in different roles across the entire organisation, whether it is an existing, evolving position or a new role created by technology.
Shaping the digital future: What role can we as businesses play in shaping the future? And, how can we bring out technology's best potential while mitigating its gravest risks?
The WEF has taken an important step by launching the IT Industry Skills Initiative, a new effort to help prepare workers for the digital jobs of the future and foster a culture of education via access to skill-based training opportunities.
Partner companies, which include CA Technologies, Cisco, Salesforce and SAP, have pledged to open up their respective training catalogues to culminate in a single, centralised portal where users will have free access to training content -- including courses on cybersecurity, IoT, machine learning, data analytics, as well as on general business skills and entrepreneurship. Working with the public and other private-sector partners, the SkillSET portal is slated to have one million users by 2021.
As business leaders, we have a duty to ensure that our organisations reskill and nurture a diverse talent set so that companies can continue to leverage technological innovations to fuel their digital ambitions, stay competitive and achieve sustainable, profitable growth.
Beyond these business objectives, however, we have a collective responsibility to heal the fractures of our world today and create a more inclusive digital future; a future where individuals, whether they are employees or students, have the skill sets to access greater opportunities and participate in the digital economy.
Martin Mackay is the president and general manager for Asia-Pacific and Japan at CA Technologies.
