The writer is CEO of AsiaBIZ Strategy, a Singapore-based consultancy that provides Asian market research and investment/trade promotion services

Asia’s tech worker shortage continues to worsen as the fourth industrial revolution drives increasing investment into fields including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data sciences, big data and cyber security. Combined with Covid-19’s acceleration of digitalisation across other industries, Asia’s tech-skilled labour supply is proving insufficient to meet the demands of the region’s changing economy. 

In Singapore, tech workers with the right skill set are rejecting job offers, with Manpower surveys showing that tech is among the sectors hit hardest by the island’s tight labour market. Malaysia’s government estimates the country needs 50,000 engineers to support its semiconductor industry, while its universities produce only 5000 such graduates each year.

Solutions include governments working with universities and industry to tailor education and training courses to sector needs. This is especially relevant for developing countries in south-east Asia, such as Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam which are likely to face workforce disruptions due to automation and robotisation in manufacturing. 

Some governments in the region are also providing training subsidies and changing visa rules for tech workers. For example, Hong Kong’s TechTAS scheme allows local firms to fast-track the hiring and migration of foreign tech workers, while India’s Production Linked Incentive streamlines visa processes for companies in strategic industries.  

More employers in Asia are relying less on formal credentials and more on solutions such as digital badges that show the completion of online courses. Further, Asian organisations are incorporating AI agents, otherwise known as ‘synthetic employees’, into their daily operations for tasks usually performed by humans. Chatbots, for example, are being adopted within growing fields such as healthtech, edtech and fintech. For instance, there are reports of local healthcare institutions using these AI tools to do 80% of the work in contacting patients. 

Still, challenges remain to growing the supply of tech workers. School curricula do not always reflect industry needs. Workers voice concerns about insufficient employer support for training and self-funded training being too expensive. However, countries that can manage to upskill and re-skill workers will have an edge in the industries driving the economy of the future.

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This article first appeared in the August/September 2024 print edition of fDi Intelligence.