WWT's Nilesh Mistry: Crossing the digital bridge

WWT's Vice President, Head of Asia Pacific Nilesh Mistry authored a blog article for HRM Asia, discussing the current digital skill gap and what can be done to address the issue.

Posted by HRM Asia on July 6, 2018:

The pace of change in technology is accelerating faster than we have ever seen, and the demand for expertise in new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), far outstrips the digital talent available. Digital talent is rapidly becoming the essential must-have skillset in all workplaces today.

As technology continues to revolutionise the way we live and work, the impact of this change is also dramatically affecting the skills needed in the workplace today. For example, as cryptocurrencies flourish, and as more businesses experiment with blockchain technology, there were four times as many blockchain-related job postings on LinkedIn in 2017. Machine learning is automating many existing occupations, freeing up workers to focus on new tasks and leading to rapidly changing core skill sets.

The Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum, warns that by the end of the decade, more than a third of the desired core skill sets of most occupations will include skills that are not considered crucial today.

According to e-Conomy Southeast Asia Spotlight 2017, joint research by Google and Temasek Holdings, the shortage of technology talent remains the most pressing challenge for growth. Digital talent combines both hard and soft skills. The hard skills include the application and practice of technology such as cloud computing, big data, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, IoT and more. The necessary soft skills are using these technologies to scale and innovate, make better business decisions with data-driven insights, digitally transform and improve the organisation's processes and more.

Having digital talent would enable businesses to accelerate their digital transformation through the use of technology, allowing them to compete more effectively and efficiently in the digital economy; keep up with the evolving needs of today's customers; and continuously innovate to drive greater business outcomes. As businesses move towards a digitalised model, soft digital skills will become equally as important as hard digital skills.