Survey: 2 in 3 Employers Say Digital Upskilling Top Their Training Agenda Amid Covid-19 Pandemic; Digital Marketing A Top Skill

SINGAPORE
– Media OutReach – 12
June 2020 – As digital transformation become the imperative for businesses in the face
of the Covid-19 pandemic, 58% of employers in Singapore are training their
workforce in technology-related skills to keep their businesses viable and
resilient during this period. This is one of the key findings in the recent NTUC LearningHub’s Employer Skills
Survey report.

The
survey, which was conducted during the ‘circuit breaker’ in April 2020 with
business leaders across Singapore, aimed to uncover the most in-demand
skillsets across industries — including Built Environment, Essential Domestic
Services, Lifestyle, Manufacturing,  and
Professional Services, and Trade  and&
Connectivity –  in the Covid-19 era.

Overall, in
terms of digital skills, competencies such as ‘Digital Marketing’ (voted by 44%),
‘Project Management Skills’ (voted by 43%), and ‘Data Analysis’ (voted by 40%),
had superseded other skills including ‘Basic IT support’ (voted by 33%) and ‘Data-Driven
Decision Making Skills’ (voted by 32%).

While Digital
Marketing skills were most sought-after by the Lifestyle (67%), Trade and
Connectivity (59%), and Professional Services industries (52%), Project
Management skills had higher priority for employers in Built Environment (66%) and
Essential Domestic Services (50%). For those in Manufacturing, Data Analysis
skills were the most critical (44%) to their company’s survival.  

Commenting
on the findings, NTUC LearningHub’s CEO, Mr Kwek Kok Kwong says, “Covid-19 has
transformed the way that many of us look at businesses and our lifestyle. Many
employers are readier than before to embrace digital solutions that previously
seemed daunting, and I foresee digitalisation becoming a core strategy for businesses.
In Singapore, we are fortunate in that our innovation is well supported by
funding schemes such as those for digital solutions, including e-commerce platforms. We also have a well-educated and adaptable workforce to support that
with some level of retraining.”

“In this
new world order where social distancing is the new norm, a business’ ability to
stand out amongst the crowd digitally would give it a competitive advantage and
that could explain why Digital Marketing emerged as the number one digital skill.
In a data-rich environment, the ability to use Data Analysis for
decision-making and the customisation clients’ needs will be
a game-changer. We therefore see Data Analysis skills emerging high in the
ladder of skills in demand. Employers are also demanding not only workers who possess
strong Project Management skills to manage complex projects, but also those who
can sort out their backend workflow to make the customer journey a seamless
one.”

To
download the full NTUC LearningHub’s Employer Skills Survey report, visit https://campaign.ntuclearninghub.com/skills-report.

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub was corporatised in 2004 with
the vision of transforming the lifelong employability of working people. We
work with both corporate and individual clients to provide learning solutions
in areas such as Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy,
Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources
and Foreign Worker Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over
21,000 organisations and achieved over 2.5 million training places across more
than 500 courses with a pool of over 400 certified trainers. As a Total
Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships and
provide a wide range of relevant end-to-end training solutions and work
constantly to improve our training quality and delivery. 

For more
information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.