THE best defence against an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world is to equip oneself with the skills necessary to face the challenges ahead.
For students looking to future-proof their career journey, that would first entail knowing what skills they would need.
In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0), the emerging workforce will be one that is data literate, comfortable working with artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, and engages in lifelong learning, said Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) vice-chancellor Prof Dr Ho Chin Kuan.
These are the three traits the future workforce should have, he emphasised.
“Everyone must be comfortable working with data. Given some piece of data, they should be able to use tools such as Microsoft Excel to extract meaning and actionable insights,” he explained.
He added that the future workforce must also be able to work alongside technology – be it hardware, software or robotics – and use it to decrease human performance to make them work better, be more efficient and have higher output.
In addition, to ensure they stay on track, he said, they must have the attitude of lifelong learners with the initiative to look at the future demands of skills and have a strategy for learning new things. “The skills one has could be obsolete in six months as technology moves very fast. The future workforce must take upskilling courses to stay relevant,” he cautioned.
According to Prof Ho, IR4.0 will encompass everything, from technology to non-technology.
“Areas such as business, management and accounting will need to adopt technology in the form of AI, machine learning and so on,” he said.
“If you are going for a non-technology degree, prepare yourself for the digital world; at least have some exposure.
“If you study marketing, make sure you are exposed to digital marketing, and if it’s finance and actuarial studies, make sure the programmes cover financial technology – that is the future and will ensure that you have an advantage over purely accounting students,” he added.
Weighing the options: A family checking out the tertiary choices on offer at The Star Education Fair recently. – LOW LAY PHON/The Star
Modern competencies
Agreeing with Prof Ho, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business deputy dean Koh Kim Siang said the key competencies expected of modern accountants include data analytics, cybersecurity, information technology (IT) audit, forensics, valuation and finance transformation, and robotic process automation where they use software to handle repetitive work that was previously handled by humans.
These will enable them to extract data from a larger pool of raw data to make better and more informed decisions; be less involved with repetitive work and focus more on big-picture strategies; and switch from a “crunching numbers” role to a more analytical one.
The competencies will also empower them to be the drivers of business automation and look into a whole range of services including AI assurance and innovation accounting for the future; as well as become users of technology and digitisation to improve their relevance as value-added business professionals, Koh explained.
“Human accountants should not be worried about being replaced and displaced by IR4.0, but should be more concerned about upgrading themselves.
“Focus on more high-level skills such as analytical, problem-solving and communication skills,” he said.
Apart from equipping students with these skills, he said, it is just as important for tertiary institutions to work with industry players to expose students to various new technology tools so that students will not experience culture shock at the workplace.
Such experience is also recommended by Prof Ho, who said one’s subject matter skills and 21st century skills, together with global outlook, make up the three ingredients for readying oneself for the future.
Among the top 21st century skills by 2025, he added, would be analytical thinking and innovation, complex problem-solving, critical thinking and analysis, creativity, originality and initiative, as well as leadership and social influence.
In creating one’s future career pathway, Prof Ho advised students to choose a university with a proven track record of graduate success, international recognition, world-class facilities and campus environment, value-added advantage, embedded industry certifications, dual awards, and opportunities for global engagement.
Echoing his sentiments, Management & Science University (MSU) media and strategic communication vice president Norizah Mohd Said stressed the need for students to develop communication, leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
“We do not so much want to produce entrepreneurs but students who have the entrepreneurial mindset, who are analytical, creative, and can give suggestions and recommendations.
“And we do not want to just produce excellent medical doctors but doctors who can communicate well, are caring and engage with patients,” she said.
She added that academic excellence is a must because one must be able to compete with others and excel at the workplace, but one must also have excellent communication skills.
These 21st century skills, she said, can be embedded into the curriculum, such as having students take part in community engagement which will also help develop the personality that differentiates them from others.
Good communication skills, added MAHSA University director of research, innovation and postgraduate studies Prof Dr Srikumar Chakravarthi, will help doctors break bad news to patients.
Doctors, he said, also need to develop their leadership skills as they have nurses and technicians as part of their teams.
“They must be lifelong learners too. It’s a field with many challenges, so doctors need to keep abreast of recent advances. You have to study until the day you retire,” said the professor of medicine.
Emerging trends
There’s a saying that goes: data is the new oil.
If you can analyse data, you are one step ahead of your competitors, and can make informed decisions rather than just base them on intuition.
Besides data analytics, game development is a trillion-dollar market.
Try channelling your children towards developing games if they like playing games. Augmented reality and virtual reality games are now easy to develop with ready software.
Cybersecurity is another huge market in the future. We need more experts such as white hat hackers who can learn patterns of attacks and trap the black hat hackers.
Universiti Teknologi Petronas Centre for Research in Data Science head Assoc Prof Dr Izzatdin Abdul Aziz
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has a place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in that it offers students hands-on training that fulfils what the industry needs.
These can be in the areas of computer system administration, creative multimedia, drone technology, mechatronics and even hospitality.
Our culinary students, for example, learn to do three-dimensional printing.
Formal education is different for everyone.
TVET offers an avenue for students as young as 16 years old to obtain a diploma, which will serve as a strong basis for them.
SG Academy TVET Industrial Partnership Manager Sharifah Nabila
Prof Ho, Koh, Norizah, Prof Srikumar, Prof Izzatdin and Sharifah shared their views during their respective talks at The Star Education Fair held from June 25 to 26 at the Pavilion Bukit Jalil Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur. For details about upcoming education events, visit facebook.com/stareducationfair.
