DIGITAL SKILLING IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

The Asia Foundation (Niki Graziella Baroy, 2023) -  Over the past decade, public and private sector institutions have implemented a wide range of digital skilling programs. Given the demand for upskilling and re-skilling the workforce, these programs often have overlapping audiences, objectives, and content. A plethora of digital skilling programs are beneficial to the Asia-Pacific population, but due to a lack of information on the digital skilling landscape, there is a tendency to duplicate existing efforts. To streamline these initiatives, it is essential to address these knowledge gaps and work in a complementary manner with public and private sector institutions.

This research seeks to address the gaps in digital skills initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region driven by Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and South Korean companies. All four countries are equipped with advanced and emerging technology sectors which are likely to be implementing corporate social responsibility and/or shared value programs domestically and in other countries. It is critical to understand what and how companies contribute to addressing the gaps in digital skilling regionally. Along with market demand, government policies were also examined to see how private sector contributions align with these efforts.

Overall, infrastructure is often the primary focus when it comes to the digital economy. As institutions pour resources into digital infrastructure, upskilling people to be able to use, adapt, and maximize these digital technologies is as critical. Populations from partner or recipient countries can be proactive partners in the process, beginning with these digital skills initiatives.