Malaysia Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) has urged that the government should prioritize upskilling, especially in digital technology in order to strive in embracing Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Malaysia Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) Talent and Digital Entrepreneurship Vice-president, Sumitra Nair suggested that more funds should be allocated for upskilling of the existing workforce in Budget 2020. Nair told Bernama,

“We hope the government will allocate (more) or at least give more focus to upskilling of the existing workforce because technology is changing jobs, so people need to be continuously reskilled.”

Nair added that digital disruption was creating new job opportunities, citing the World Economic Forum’s prediction that 65 percent of the people today would work in jobs that did not yet exist and most of these required digital skills.

In addition, she also stressed that mindset shifts of the people were critical to fully grasp the digital transformation era. The government needs to figure out ways to create the right mindset to spur lifelong learning, she added.

According to the latest Q2 2019 Randstad Workmonitor study, 6 in 10 Malaysians expect their jobs to be automated within the next decade. Similarly, when it comes to sourcing talent, 55 percent said that their employers are having trouble finding people with the right skills today. These findings are in tandem with Nair’s remarks and highlight that preparing people for digital transformation needs to be the government’s priority if it wants people to be ready for the next set of jobs in the making.