Digital Skilling: Exploring Tech Roles in the Booming Digital Economy

Digital Skilling: Exploring Tech Roles in the Booming Digital Economy

If there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s that humans will adapt to life’s inconveniences as we witnessed how jobs, school and personal shopping had successfully pivoted online since 2020.

With greater digital power comes greater transformation. AI-derived businesses worldwide alone will reach $3.9 trillion according to Gartner’s forecast of 2022. Microsoft estimates that the growth in demand for digital skills for global tech-oriented jobs will surge to 190 million in 2025.

It’s no wonder the Singapore government is tapping on the Smart Nation initiative to ensure no one is left out in this vast digital space, a booming economy identified with several emerging domains. An emerging domain is defined as a cluster of jobs and skills trends and changes within the respective economies by growth areas.

Take a look at some of the key emerging domains of the digital economy:

1. Key emerging domain: Software Development

Skills in the emerging domain of Software Development stands out as the most transferable across the board, coupled with having the highest demand growth.

This makes perfect sense as the global appetite for software and applications on devices continues to grow, in tandem with a spurt in digitalisation brought forth by the pandemic.

Consumers wanting newer upgrades to digital products means a need for companies to constantly improve their older digital versions, especially on software design. Does it perform functionally better than competitors? Is the software design more intuitive? How successful the latest tech gadget or app is received by consumers depends entirely on how users interact and engage with it, or how effective its performance holds up against potential issues and defects.

2. Key emerging domain: Cloud, Systems and Infrastructure

A safe digital space is paramount in this climate of scam scares and fraud risks. As more consumers bank or pay for products online and businesses scale up on their digital environment, hiring workers with skills in this area is more crucial than ever to keep cloud, system administration, databases and network infrastructure secure and robust.

With more 5G networks in place in Singapore and globally, skills such as radio frequency engineering are in demand. Also, skills such as solution architecture help to develop structured and integrated IT systems and infrastructure.

As users hunger for more data while modern enterprises increasingly go digital, cloud hyperscalers (e.g Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Alibaba and Google Cloud) have been expanding, in Asia and worldwide. By 2026, the global hyperscale cloud market is projected to grow to US$693.49 billion. This means not only are recruiters actively on the lookout for candidates with relevant digital skills to plug this market, but they are also sourcing for managers trained to run these data centre facilities smoothly.

3. Key emerging domain: E-Commerce and Digital Marketing

Online shopping and e-marketing is here to stay, thanks to the cursed Covid-19 having forced many of us to stay at home due to lockdowns. The upside of more people choosing to buy online and being influenced by ads and marketing through their tech gadgets and apps means companies must adapt their business models, offer omnichannel customer support and enhanced customer experience.

That is why those with skills in product development as well as customer experience and e-commerce management are highly sought after. After all, if companies want to add value to their products and services, what better way than to boost customer loyalty and trust. For as the adage goes, a happy customer is a repeat customer.

4. Key emerging domain: AI, Data and Analytics

Data is everywhere. But what sifts relevant and useful data from noise is where a skilled data scientist, engineer or architect comes in. To do this, large quantities of data will have to be interpreted using analysis and customer insight. At the same time, new data models need to be developed for organisations to figure out how to use this data.

And while AI is the new and exciting frontier, there’s growing concern of its unchecked power, its biases and potential exploitation. To gain the public’s trust and confidence, there is a need to govern AI and its ethics, across AI’s platforms and ecosystems. This means skilling workers in AI as it continues to make its presence felt in our everyday lives, for better or for worse.

Digital Skills In Demand

The Digital Economy is expanding to feed the global appetite of tech users, with skilled workers in demand to match the various emerging domains. Look into the many ways you can get reskilled or upskilled in this booming and exciting field!

For More Information

For more information about the Digital Economy, check out Skills Demand for the Future Economy Report 2022 for detailed information about digital jobs and skills. In particular, the research team has created a meticulous spreadsheet that lists the priority skills and related jobs.

Click here for our list of curated courses.

If you require personalised advice on skills training, speak with our Skills Ambassadors for a free one-to-one consultation either online or by phone.