Managing Skills Challenges in ASEAN-5

The nature and the extent of the skills challenges vary widely among the five ASEAN countries. Differences in their stage of development, economic structure, and growth strategy explain the different skill mix they need. At the same time, differences in demographic profile, institutional capacity and workforce characteristics define their abilities and effectiveness in responding to the skill needs of industry. The study finds that despite the diversity among the ASEAN-5 countries, they share a number of common skills challenges, albeit with different degrees of seriousness. The ability to respond to the challenges also varies among the five countries. Specifically, the study identifies 10 key common challenges for ASEAN-5. It provides suggestions on how the ASEAN-5 countries can address the skills challenges affecting their economies.