Indonesia’s workforce says it has a serious digital skills gap

digital skills gap
Image by TarikVision | Bigstockphoto

Most workers in Indonesia are finding themselves in need of new or updated digital skills to stay ahead of the curve. That’s according to a new report from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and AlphaBeta, which sheds some light on the digital skills gap in Indonesia, and the potential impact on the country’s economy.

The report, titled “Building Digital Skills for the Changing Workforce”, surveyed employed adults in Indonesia to better understand the digital skills landscape.

Over the next year, almost 17.2 million Indonesians will require digital competency training to keep up with technological progress. The research’s results showed, however, that 98% of respondents believe that digital upskilling is important for their jobs, and 36% think that they are not being trained enough to prepare them for future needs in the workplace.

By 2025, three of the top five digital skills in most demand will be cloud-related, according to the report. Specifically, the following skills will be in high demand:

  1. Use of cloud-based tools
  2. Cybersecurity
  3. Technical or IT support
  4. Basic digital marketing
  5. Cloud migration

The report highlights the need for collective effort to unlock future workplace potential among Indonesian workers. Government, employers, training providers, and workers all have a role to play in developing the skills needed for the future.

For example, the government may use online “Skills Portals” to promote high-demand digital skills courses. Employers can take advantage of free training programs from industries to upskill their employees. Industry-developed training courses might be used by trainers and providers to meet industry requirements. Workers may also acquire micro-credentials through short-term training programs to close skill gaps in times of urgent need.

The report findings also highlight the need to provide training programs for underserved communities, including women and at-risk youth. These groups tend to face greater challenges when it comes time to access digital skills training opportunities, AWS said.

AWS and AlphaBeta’s research also looked at the skills needs of organizations in Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea. Globally, 88% of workers believe they need additional skills in order to keep up with changes within their jobs and 64% eel training on cloud-related technologies would be necessary by 2025 if they want to succeed professionally.

In Singapore, amid a similar skills shortage, tech companies are hiking salaries for tech professionals such as data scientists, cybersecurity analysts, and developers. Malaysian authorities, meanwhile, are fast-tracking the plan to equip Malaysian workers with skills needed for Industry 4.0.

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