Since the beginning of Sarawak’s digital transformation journey, we at SarawakYES! have been highlighting various knowledge, fields and skills that are vital to thrive in the digital economy.
This information can be extremely helpful to those who want to be employable in the digital age, especially when there is a growing demand for digitally competent individuals due to the expected increase of technology-related jobs in the future.
Fundamentally, you need to possess and utilise a combination of technical and soft skills to be part of the digital workforce.
Technical skills refer to your area of expertise and your fluency in using data and digital technology, whereas soft skills range from creativity and innovation to management and communication.
Here are some other competencies that you should acquire to boost your employability in the digital economy:
Interdisciplinary
Being highly employable in the digital age requires having an understanding in more than one discipline, as data and digital technology is now being used across numerous industries to solve real-world problems.
This means that you need to be able to incorporate and transfer concepts from different fields to better identify and develop new ideas and solutions.
For example, if you’re a data scientist, you need to familiarise yourself not only with data science, but also computer science, statistics, business, communication and social science.
Virtual collaboration
With more opportunities to work flexibly, you might find yourself working with colleagues whom you will communicate via the Internet.
Virtually collaborating with professionals from other parts of the world poses its own challenges in terms of working on projects and understanding different cultures and viewpoints, considering that you can’t interact with them face-to-face.
Still, these challenges can give you the opportunity to use different kinds of online collaboration tools, build your network through your virtual colleagues, and be empathetic to diverse worldviews.
Marketing
Marketing in the digital age isn’t just applicable to selling products and services online.
Because more employers are searching for potential employees and freelancers through the Internet, you need to have the ability to promote yourself and your professional skills through personal branding.
You can do this by creating and networking via a professional social media account or building your own website that showcases your work and expertise.
Resilience
Technological advancements happen rapidly, which can be overwhelming in trying to keep up with these developments.
However, if you set your mind to proactively adapt to these changes and continuously update yourself with the latest knowledge and skills, you will be able to conquer whatever technology-related challenges that you face.
Your resilience will then give you the advantage you need to stand out from your peers in the digital economy.
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
This article first appeared on The Borneo Post, published in the print version on Saturday, February 16, 2019.
