Southeast Asia needs to strengthen its education system and train workers in technology skills to prepare for the accelerating digitalization of work, a Malaysian official said at a regional forum Thursday.
“We need to accelerate the pace of digital adoption, prepare for a rebound post-COVID, and focus on the young people as well,” according to Mustapa Mohamed, a minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s economics department, during the Southeast Asia Regional Forum of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Siti Rozaimeriyanty DSLJ Haji Abdul Rahman of Brunei, who chairs the Business Advisory Council, said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic caused over 13 million people in ASEAN to be unemployed and pushed 18 million into poverty.
She said governments and the private sector should jointly improve the education system and make the labor force more resilient to future shocks.
“Now what seems unclear is that we see less demand for low and unskilled labor and exponential growth in demand for what we used to call ‘future skills.’ Big enterprises can react here by investing in skills upgrading in the company. MSMEs (micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises), as the backbone in ASEAN economies are different and require special attention,” she added.
The ASEAN Work Plan on Education 2021-2025 is intended to guide countries in achieving an inclusive, sustainable and resilient education system. Kung Phoak of Cambodia, deputy secretary general for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, said the framework are now being finalized.
“The work plan is anchored on a robust lifelong learning framework, and compressing different stages and modalities of application and capturing the needs and context of all learners, including the disadvantaged groups, by equipping both current and future generations with digital skills and… resilience and strength of character to face adversity and challenges,” Mr. Kung said. — Beatrice M. Laforga