Business

Saturday April 4, 2009

Jobs in the future


WHILE the job market is constantly changing according to the needs of industry and the corporate world as well as technology innovation, trade flows and the global economic system, consultants say a prolonged recession will also bring about the growth of contract and freelance positions.

Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd vice-president and country general manager Melissa Norman says contract positions and part-time employability will become more acceptable going forward.

“There’ll also be an increase in the number of people who are self-employed or who are freelancers,” she says, adding that these are the people with marketable skills who have either been retrenched or are unable to find employment.

In addition, “green-collar” jobs will increase in the years to come but it may not be on a large-scale yet. “The next wave seems to be bio-technology, bio-fuel, next-generation web technology and renewable energy,” she says.

Part of the Government’s response to the downturn is to encourage degree holders to pursue their graduate degrees by subsidising their studies.

This will mean a more highly qualified workforce in the next few years.

However, to increase its competitive edge, the education system should be geared towards supplying the type of talent and skills that meet market needs. For that, regular discussions should be held by the Government with business leaders and human resource professionals to find out the talents and skills the market requires.

Manpower Staffing Services (M) Sdn Bhd country manager Sam Haggag says the most fundamental change resulting from this global economic recession is the way work is structured.

“We’ll see growth in the number of contingent workers rather than expansion of the permanent workforce, virtual teams dispersed around the world will be the way companies get over the chronic shortage of talent,” he says. He expects older and more experienced employees to become a key component of organisations’ strategy to retain critical skills.

In the local context, there is a need to develop knowledge- and value-based services as the engine for growth rather than manufacturing, which is vulnerable to market volatility.

“Research tells us that the top 10 jobs in 2015 do not exist today, so lifelong learning will become imperative across the entire spectrum of the workforce,” Haggag points out.

Organisations must keep abreast of these changes to ensure that their workforce is adequately developed to meet them.

“Availability of a well-educated, trained and multi-lingual workforce is absolutely critical for Malaysia to achieve its objective of growing the services sector,” Haggag says.

It is by no sheer coincidence, he points out that the growth of the business process outsourcing industry in India and the Philippinese is fuelled by the availability of well-educated English-speaking workers. — By FINTAN NG

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