In their 2020 COVID-19 Labour Pulse Survey, employment agency Randstad Malaysia found that 91% of Malaysians intend to upskill and reskill.
Dictionary Time: Reskilling is the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job, or of training people to do a different job.
55% of them are doing so to prepare for how automation and digitalisation will affect their future, whereas 21% are looking to change their career or industry that they work in.
From our research, we found 4 skills that are highly demanded right now, and some local organisations that can upskill or reskill talents to get there.
1. AI Learning
Randstad noted that 76% of Malaysians are proactively learning about AI to ensure employability. In this article by The Star, companies that have adopted AI expect to increase their competitiveness by 2.2 times in 2021.
Microsoft Malaysia’s Managing Director also shared, “AI is the defining technology of our time that significantly accelerates business transformation, enables innovation, boosts employee productivity, and ensures further growth.”
These organisations could help you upskill in AI:
360 DigiTMG (AI & Deep Learning Certificate Course)
This is a training centre for data science, machine learning, IR4.0, IoT, and AI courses. Their curricula partners include IBM, Panasonic, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Trainers: Bharani Kumar Depuru, Sharat Chandra Kumar, Nitin Mishra, directors and Vice President of Analytics at Innodatatics (a data analytics solutions company) respectively.
Duration: 2 months.
Price: RM3,600 upfront / RM1,333.33 per month for a 3-month instalment.
MDEC MyIndustry AI Scholarship (Master by Research in AI degree)
This course is for Malaysian postgraduate students or undergraduates holding a Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in STEM.
Trainers: From Universiti Malaya, Monash University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and Multimedia University.
Duration: 18-24 months.
Price: No fee, instead you’ll receive a fully paid tuition fee and a minimum RM2,500 monthly stipend if you’re a selected recipient.
2. Digital Marketing
Last year, we compiled a list of 11 Jobs That Will Be High In Demand In Malaysia After The COVID-19 Pandemic, and 1 of the 11 includes a Marketing Manager.
It’s unlikely that things will return to normal anytime soon, which makes digital marketing a more sought-after skill by businesses.
We confirmed the demand by looking at JobStreet‘s digital marketing vacancies, and last week alone, there were over 300 job postings.
These organisations could help you upskill in digital marketing:
OpenAcademy (Digital Marketing: Getting Started)
It’s an education service company by OpenMinds, a digital marketing consultancy startup.
Trainers: Leaders from OpenMinds and DriveFunnels.
Duration: 3 days (Wednesday to Friday).
Price: RM3,000 per pax / RM5,000 for 2 pax if you sign up with a friend.
NEXT Academy (Learning Digital Marketing On The Go)
NEXT Academy is a Malaysian coding and digital marketing school for university graduates to working professionals.
Trainer: Xin-Ci, CMO of Storehub.
Duration: 12 weeks / 120 hours (part-time remote learning).
Price: RM2,800 upfront / RM233 per month.
They also offer an on-site course called Product Launch With Digital Marketing, which is trained by Cindy Chen, a digital marketer cum Instagram influencer. It costs RM4,950 upfront / RM412.50 per month.
3. Cybersecurity
“As the Digital Economy takes the centre stage around the world, the risk of cybersecurity threats has also become prevalent. With threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, the need for cybersecurity experts have grown exponentially,” shared MDEC.
They also shared that the value of Malaysia’s overall security services market in 2021 is estimated to be around US$ 632.6 million, according to IDC Market Security Product and Services Forecast.
These organisations could help you upskill in cybersecurity:
iTrain (Certified Cybersecurity Specialist Course)
It’s a digital technology training centre for corporations, individuals, and universities.
Trainer: Mohd Hamizi Jamaludin, an IT trainer who does training courses in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, KL.
Duration: 5 days.
Price: RM5,500 online / RM4,400 offline.
They also provide another online course called Cybersecurity Awareness for Beginners, which is trained by CF Fong, who has a background of 20 years in cybersecurity and is the CEO of LGMS. It costs RM60 per month, or RM499 per year.
CyberGuru (Cybersecurity Upskilling Programme)
This is an education platform by CyberSecurity Malaysia for cybersecurity professional training and development.
Trainers: Abyres trainers, an IT company in Cyberjaya.
Duration: They vary on which fundamentals you want to learn, so you can check out the full list of dates for your desired courses here.
Price: RM1,510 to RM3,780, depending on your course of choice.
4. Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
MDEC shared that according to the World Economic Forum, 10% of the world’s GDP will be stored on blockchain technology by 2027, which is an equivalent of US$ 24 trillion in financial assets.
In 2018, Techcrunch also pointed out the demand for blockchain talents, stating that there are 14 job openings for every 1 blockchain developer. With now being a crucial learning time for those who are thinking of tapping into this industry, here are the organisations that could help:
Blockchain Academy (Blockchain Fundamentals Professional Certificate Online Course)
Blockchain Academy is a Malaysian school and online learning platform for core blockchain subjects. This course is developed by the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley).
Trainers: Rustie Lin, Nadir Akhtar, Mengyi Gloria, instructors from UC Berkeley.
Duration: Self-paced, but the estimated time is 3 months.
Price: RM802 (including certification).
Tertiary Courses (Basic Blockchain and Bitcoin Course)
It’s a Malaysian upskilling training centre in IT, electronics, digital media, and horticulture industries.
Trainers: Muhammed Siraj, PhD in Computer Science from University Putra Malaysia, Ahmad Pouladazeh, senior software engineer, and Dr Touraj Khodadadi, senior IT lecturer at the Malaysia University of Science and Technology, PJ.
Duration: 1 day (7.5 hours).
Price: RM880.
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While there are other upskilling trends like sharpening one’s soft skills and interpersonal skills that will always be in demand, these ones would be best learnt and practised via in-person courses, which aren’t encouraged for the time being.
The aforementioned upskilling courses, on the other hand, can be learnt online and are time-sensitive, given how fast they’re expected to take over market demand soon.
With the accelerated digitalisation of industries all over the world, it’s now even more important for us to equip ourselves with at least one main digital skillset so we don’t get left behind.
Featured Image Credit: OpenAcademy
