Growing digital skills gap: Businesses need to take action now

With the uncertainty brought about by Covid-19, it may sometimes feel as though life has come to a standstill. But if there’s one area where we have taken quantum leaps over the course of the pandemic, it’s digital transformation. From non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to blockchain and the metaverse, there is always something new and potentially disruptive to better understand.

When Covid-19 threw the world into rapid digital transformation, Singapore was more than ready to live up to its reputation as one of the top nations in digital competitiveness. Businesses quickly realised that without a digital strategy in place, they had no strategy at all. Digitalisation was already happening, but now, it’s an imperative to the very survival of a business.

This digital imperative heralds the rise of the new digital economy, and one important question all leaders and businesses must ask is whether their workforce is ready for it. According to Salesforce’s new Global Digital Skills Index, there is more work to be done in Singapore to ready the workforce for the new digital world. In Singapore, 64 per cent of respondents feel unprepared for the workplace digital skills needed right now; and 71 per cent said they feel unequipped with the resources to learn digital skills needed in the next five years.

The digital skills gap is growing. To bridge this gap, there is still more work to be done. 

Making room for everyone in the digital HQ

Today, every resilient company has its headquarters in the cloud. The office is no longer a place you go to work, but wherever work gets done. Thanks to the surge in digitalisation, we are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine how we work and collaborate. This is particularly pronounced in Asia, home to half of the world’s Internet users and one of the world’s fastest growing online populations. 

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Businesses are responding accordingly: an IDC study showed that in Asia Pacific, cloud-related technologies will account for 18 per cent of IT spending this year, growing to 29 per cent in 2026. This is giving rise to the digital headquarters (HQ), where workflows are made seamless to support the way people naturally collaborate, regardless of where they choose to work. 

With this comes a whole new suite of cloud technologies and collaboration tools for us to learn. According to Salesforce’s Index, only 30 per cent of respondents in Singapore consider themselves proficient at using collaboration technologies such as Slack. This statistic needs to grow - we need to look out for people who may be left behind because they are not equipped with the skills to thrive in the world of the digital HQ. 

Businesses are the greatest platforms of change

With the digital imperative becoming a priority for every company, it’s no surprise that businesses themselves should be in the driver’s seat to bridge the digital skills gap. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, businesses are some of the most trusted institutions in the world, and are seen as competent and effective drivers of positive change. They are in a prime position to address this skills gap.

It starts with companies incorporating digital skills training into their learning and development programmes for staff, and it should not end there. We see many partnerships being formed across businesses and public sector organisations to open up training opportunities to the wider community. Companies are also spearheading initiatives and programmes to reach more people, helping them build or deepen their digital skills. 

For instance, Salesforce’s online learning tool Trailhead was created to provide equitable access to digital skills. In Asean, over 85,000 people are currently using it to learn new skills for the future of work. We also work with universities and government agencies like SkillsFuture in Singapore and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) in Thailand to help workers reskill and upskill. 

Digital inclusion is key to economic recovery

It is concerning that the research has revealed low digital confidence amongst the global population – but this also presents an opportunity. With companies around the world rapidly transitioning to digital-first models, the demand for employees with digital skills has soared and there is a growing appetite by the workforce to acquire these skills. In Singapore, nearly 50% of respondents said they plan to learn new skills to help them grow in their careers. In Thailand, more than half of those surveyed felt ready and prepared in terms of workplace digital skills, with around 40 per cent very actively participating in digital upskilling.

Given the speed and disruption at which technology will continue to evolve, our modus operandi for addressing the growing digital skills gap needs to be reimagined. Now, more than ever, businesses have a responsibility to create close collaboration with governments, partners and communities to tackle this challenge. Collaboration is key to ensuring the right kinds of training and recruitment opportunities scale up to match digital demand and reach all aspects of society equally.

Immediate and sustained investment in digital skills, to offset job displacement driven by our transition to a digital-first world, is imperative to our economic recovery and to the resilient, long-term economic growth that must follow it.

The writer is Senior Vice President & General Manager, Salesforce ASEAN.