JOBS are aplenty in Malaysia but the talent pool is shallow, according to a LinkedIn report which found rising demand for jobs which require digital competency and soft skills in the last five years but there were limited takers.

LinkedIn’s 2019 Emerging Jobs in Malaysia report found that the fastest growing jobs between 2013 and 2017 were data scientists, full-stack engineers, drive-test engineers, user experience (UX) designers and content writers.

The business and job portal said it analysed “millions” of job titles listed by its users in Malaysia in the past five years and found that while demand for digital talent is fast growing, supply was comparatively low.

The National ICT Association of Malaysia (Pikom) agrees and told The Malaysian Insight that the government must address the acute talent deficiency in the country.

This is because the industry’s growth potential is seen in the ICT sector’s contribution of 18% to  gross domestic product in 2017.

At the same time, however, the skilled labour force is on the decline, even if marginally, by 1% in seven years to 18% in 2017, Pikom said, citing the National Policy on Industry 4.0.

Pikom also cited the Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Report 2017, which said 66% of the 435 companies surveyed faced talent shortages while employment in the digital industry is projected to increase to 15% over the next three years.

The increasing demand for talent is driven by business expansion, but with competition from global and regional countries, Pikom said Malaysia will find it challenging to source for talent in the future.

In LinkedIn’s description of the top five IT jobs, it said data scientists analysed and interpreted data that businesses collect, while full-stack engineers assist businesses in going digital, such as by creating apps and websites, using technical skills like website server hosting and UX design, as well as soft skills like project management.

At the same time, drive-test engineers utilise data gathered from telco networks to troubleshoot problems and improve network coverage, while UX designers make products like apps and websites easier for customers to use.

Demand for content writers is also growing because of the popularity of social media use on smartphones, LinkedIn said.

Talent shortage remains one of the biggest challenges faced by Malaysian employers, said Fusionex, a data-technology provider specialising in analytics, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“The continuous challenge is and has always been about recruiting and attracting the right talent,” it said in an email interview.

“There are enough jobs in the market, but the key is to develop and have in place the right skill sets to attract a position offering.”

These challenges in finding data and digital talent was also predicted by JobStreet.com in its Malaysia’s Job Outlook 2019 poll released in January.

In the poll, 96% of employers believe the talent landscape will change this year due to the surge in demand for digital skills. It also said there is limited supply of potential workers with these skill sets.

It starts with universities

JobStreet.com’s report recommended that jobseekers equip themselves to meet the digital skills requirement of the changing employment landscape.

The problem is that subjects like data analytics are still not widely taught nor taught with depth in universities, and a check with some of the leading private higher education institutions found that they are only offered as part of an IT course, if at all.

Fusionex said it is working with Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to collaborate with tertiary institutions to increase the number of high-quality data professionals in Malaysia.

The flipside, however, is that educational qualifications are not compulsory for the most in-demand IT jobs, as many data scientists came from multiple disciplines, Fusionex said.

More important is an analytical mind and logical thinking, plus real-life, “on-the-job” experience from internships or mentorships.

“One’s basic degree should be computer science, engineering or mathematics and statistics as they afford you the necessary skills necessary to process and analyse voluminous data, including structured and unstructured data,” it said.

“In addition, good communication skills, strong business acumen, a strong can-do attitude in the face of challenges naturally also help (someone) thrive as a data scientist.”

Fusionex predicted a tremendous increase in demand for tech workers, not only in Malaysia but through Southeast Asia.

“As data is this century’s crude oil, it is not surprising that data scientists are in such high demand – since more and more industries are utilising big data to guide their strategic decision-making processes.”

For Malaysia, LinkedIn reported that 7% of the country’s GDP was derived from digital products in 2017. This is expected to grow more than six times by 2021. – March 22, 2019.