Big tech firms pledge training for workers in Southeast Asia

BANGKOK, Nov 19, (AP): Microsoft, Google and other major technology companies have promised to help provide training in digital skills for around 20 million people in Southeast Asia by 2020 to make sure the region’s burgeoning working-age population is a fit for the future job market. Upto 28 million full-time jobs are subject to being displaced, according to a new estimate.

The World Economic Forum think tank announced Monday its “ASEAN Digital Skills Vision 2020” initiative to improve the technological capacity of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations with training, funds for scholarships, internships and shaping the curricula of technology and computing courses, among other measures. The forum is best known for its annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland, of top business and political leaders.

Southeast Asia is seeking to increase the digital skills of its workers as the shift to greater use of robots and other automation threatens to rob those without technological savvy of opportunities for employment, even in manufacturing and service industries.

Other companies pledging training include Cisco, Grab, Lazada, Sea Group and Tokopedia. Google leads the pack, with a pledge to train 3 million small-to-medium-size enterprise employees across ASEAN.

Ministers from countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam also pledged to join the initiative, Justin Wood, the forum’s Asia Pacific head, said at a news conference.