BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, while national councils must rapidly integrate AI tools into all training curriculum.
By working together to strategically embrace AI as a tool to enhance local capabilities, the workforce can be equipped with future-proof skills, mitigate disruption and ensure a just and inclusive transition for all sectors of the economy.
This was said by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah as Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) chairman in his keynote address at the 2nd MSME roundtable series ‘Manpower and Workforce Challenges Faced by MSMEs’.
He said that despite the decline in unemployment to 4.7 per cent, as reported in Brunei Darussalam’s Labour Force Survey 2024, the nation’s MSMEs continue to face persistent workforce challenges, particularly in hiring, talent retention and addressing skill gaps across operational, technical and digital fields.
The minister added that recent findings from the Employer-Based Survey conducted by the Manpower Planning and Employment Council revealed a trend where over 60 per cent of employers struggled with retention because local employees are pursuing better pay for greater advancement. While this is concerning, this movement also signals an ambitious workforce that is actively seeking growth.
At the same time, the minister said, “This dynamic is also compounded by the alarming fact that over 35 per cent of employers cite employees resigning without notice, which further amplifies the operational challenges on our MSMEs, and disrupts team stability.”
Beyond retention, he explained, “we also hear consistent concerns from MSMEs around workforce-related processes, particularly the issue of prolonged hiring timelines for foreign workers, which reflects a structural reliance in certain sectors that lack sufficient local skills.
"While we must strategically manage this reliance and continue building local capabilities, we cannot let process delays choke the growth of our businesses.
"Therefore, as we develop long-term talent and professionalism strategies, we must also ensure that businesses have timely access to the essential talent they need to operate efficiently and sustain their growth.”
The Brunei government, he reassured, “has taken important steps to close such gaps, by setting up the Manpower Planning and Employment Council, to align workforce development with industry needs, and the Manpower Industry Steering Committee, to bring businesses, regulators and educators together to identify critical skills.
"Salary guidelines and minimum wage policies were introduced to ensure fair pay and encourage upskilling. Digital platforms like JobCentre Brunei and the National Labour Management have been deployed, to enable a transparent job matching system.”
Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Mohd Amin Liew also touched on the AI transformation that threatens the job landscape.
“Our workforce challenges are being compounded by the global AI revolution, which can potentially augment or displace up to 57 per cent of jobs, impacting 164 million workers, across South-East Asia,” he said.
In Brunei, he added, “a primary concern is the widening Skills Readiness Gap as the automation of routine tasks may increase our reliance on foreign talent to manage sophisticated AI tools that our local workforce is not yet equipped.”
The minister said, “We acknowledge that the challenges facing MSMEs are multifaceted that cannot be addressed by the government alone; it requires greater engagement and active participation between government agencies, companies and educational institutions.
"These challenges are not unique to Brunei but our approach must be pragmatic, collaborative, and in alignment with our national priorities to achieve our Brunei Vision 2035.”
Meanwhile, acting chief executive officer of BEDB Daniel Leong said, “Today’s session is an opportunity to unpack these issues, understand their root causes, and explore practical solutions, whether short-term improvements, medium-term interventions, or long-term reforms.
"We hope to capture insights from business owners and industry representatives and align them with perspectives from government agencies, so we can move forward to strengthen public-private collaboration and build a more supportive and predictable workforce ecosystem for our MSMEs.” – Borneo Bulletin/ANN
