Employabilityin a data-driv en w orld
Everyone will need to adaptto new learning, and people atany age who wanta career change can take advantage, of course.
for Education (ICE) program which INTI has integrated into its business and Computing & IT verticals serve to equip our students with cutting-edge skills that will prepare them to not only bridge the gap in IT expertise, but to helm the field,” he said.
Si, who is head of regional communications, said that the softer labour market means that more employers are now only hiring to replace.
“Nevertheless, IT jobs are still among the top five being offered, and we have observed that the local talent pool needs to grow based on the application ratio for IT jobs,” he said.
“One thing many of the trends today show is that industries and consumers are adopting new technologies today faster than ever before.
“IT has become an integral part of life which means the requirements have changed for all job roles, while we also need to produce a new generation of talent for jobs like data scientist.
“The technological drivers of change have given rise to job creations and it is important that all stakeholders work together to prepare students for jobs of the future with new skills sets.”
Si said that the demand for IT workers is high but the supply has fallen short.
“The applicant ratio is higher for sales and engineering jobs than for IT. This in turn means a higher average salary for fresh grads with IT qualifications,” he said.
Johnson added that those with IT skills will not only have the advantage of getting jobs anywhere around the world, but can also choose to work from anywhere.
What may possibly be good news is that the speed of technological advancement means that everyone will have the chance to learn new skills at the same time.
“Technology is key to a level-playing field,” said Hirst.
“Everyone will need to adapt to new learning, and people at any age who want a career change can take advantage, of course.”
To Si, some members of the older generation are unwilling to come out of their comfort zone and reskill themselves.
“The barrier however is mostly psychological,” he said.
“Many retirees end up as Uber drivers, but when they take accept requests from customers and then use Waze during the journey, they are actually playing their part in the new digital economy, whether they realise it or not.
“Nobody can avoid embracing technology, which penetrates every aspect of our lives.”
Si added he even needed to remind himself of that.
“Once I was giving a talk, and I saw that everyone in my audience was busy looking at their phones. I then wondered whether I was so boring that nobody was paying attention to me.
“It was only later that I realised they were all busy typing what I was saying and then flashing my points on their social networks.
“And that is how communication works these days.”
At INTI International University & Colleges, the IBM Innovation Center for Education (ICE) programme is taught by IBM certified experts.
IBM ICE is a series of undergraduate programmes and academic courses for the Computing & IT and Business verticals.
Devised in consultation with INTI and local industry experts, the IBM ICE programme differentiates itself through a courseware developed by IBM Labs, its Learning Services Team, and several partners
IBM Sys tem s director