World Economic Forum on Asean

Futureproof education for skills of tomorrow

Chinese students and their parents take part in a chess contest at a primary school in Shenyang, China on April 6, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

For many of us we know that it's a great time to be in Asia. Where others worry about demography, almost half the population of those in Asean countries are under 30. Unemployment is admirably low, while youth unemployment is at 13 per cent - although admittedly with sharp regional differences.

It's clear that young Asians are tech-savvy and early adopters. South East Asia is the world's fastest growing region for internet access, with nearly 125,000 new users coming online each day through to 2020, according to a 2016 report from Google and Temasek on the e-conomy. The region's internet economy, including e-commerce, travel and online media, could grow to at least US$200 billion (S$281.60 billion) by 2025.

This promises the potential to change the lives of millions throughout Asia. Just think about how hyper connectivity can expand the professional opportunities for Asean talent at both regional and global level.

Yet employers are crying out for even more talent. On average, 40 per cent of employers globally state that they cannot find staff with the right skills, according to an OECD survey. In Japan, this stands at 80% and is also a challenge in most other Asia countries.

As recruiters, we face this challenge every day, especially in sectors like engineering and IT. . My teams say that when a good candidate walks in, they should be proposed to a client company that very same day, as competition is so fierce and timing so crucial. It's not just hiring: retention is as tough with millennials and Generation Z.

Newcomers to the labour market in Asia could have as many as eight jobs in their first decade of work: many move on after only a year with an employer, a very poor return on investment for the latter.

This talent scarcity will worsen as technology develops. Automation and technology imply a profound transformation, with organisations becoming flatter and more interconnected.

Life-long learning and boosts to employability become more important than fixed contracts, while competitiveness relies more on combinations of skills than on highly specialised ones.

A multi-career has become the norm, with a shift from linear to 'spiral' careers.

The bottom line? Education is paramount. Pure technical skills are not enough, as the new 'talent profile' must combine them with social and collaborative skills to meet the employment needs of the new economy and ensure inclusive growth.

Above all, ensuring employees' required flexibility needs an ability to 'learn how to learn' - a talent that must be acquired during early education. School systems must change from top-down rote learning to problem solving and social skills, developed through project-based learning and experiential opportunities.

Czech John Amos Comenius, who died in 1670 and is often described as the 'father of modern education', stated "If you tell kids, they will forget. If you show them, they will remember. If you involve them, they will learn'.

Giving practical experience at a relatively early stage also ensures young people experience working life, clarify their career wishes and develop the soft skills that employers demand.

Public private partnerships are central to reforming educational systems to combine formal learning with vocational training and practical work experience.

The tested apprenticeship systems of Germany and Switzerland are case studies in governments, education systems and employers working together to build professional profiles to meet labour market needs.

Singapore shows answers can be found closer to its Asean home region.

In the annual Global Talent Competitiveness Index compiled by INSEAD and The Adecco Group, and ranking 118 countries according to their ability to develop, attract and retain talent, the city state has consistently ranked second thanks to its flexible labour market, extreme business friendly policies and, of course, its top quality and innovative schools, colleges and universities.

Singapore has long favoured designing social systems to drive desired economic and societal change. The New Educational System of 1979 introduced multi-streaming geared to the diverse needs of the market and economic development.

Subsequent reforms prioritised the knowledge economy, shifting learning from absorbing information to nurturing thinking skills by encouraging thematic study across disciplines, project-based learning and experiential opportunities.
Success is always achieved through collaboration. Employers must also do more. Programmes like the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN), for example, combine the efforts of multinational companies, institutions and education systems to design and implement apprenticeship schemes that can work for different countries.

Current and ongoing pledges by GAN's 13 corporate direct members will positively impact over 9.3 million young people through 2020.

Individual companies can also contribute: just take our own Adecco Way to Work, which in Asia provided several hundred internships and apprenticeships between 2013 and 2017.

Beyond youth, the 'multi-career' age has made life-long learning essential. That means we have to look beyond school to those already in the labour market. To remain competitive, companies and organisations require the best technology.

But they should spend as much on retraining and upskilling. Here too Singapore may be a guide. Its training participation rate for resident workers aged between 15 and 64 rose to an all-time high of 42 per cent in the year to June 2016.

Development and employment are a shared responsibility. Of course, systems such as Singapore and Switzerland 'were not built in a day', but their success represents the material proof that private-public partnerships, combining early age preparation with life-long learning and prioritising upskilling are key to foster inclusive growth and boost prosperity.

The writer oversees human resource consulting firm,The Adecco Group's operations in the Asia Pacific region and is based in Tokyo, Japan. He is a participant in the World Economic Forum on Asean 2017, in Phnom Penh, from May 10-12.

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