AS the demand for digital talent in Malaysia continues to grow, Google has announced two new advanced Google Career Certificates in business intelligence and advanced data analytics.
These certificates are built on the foundational skills of the Google Data Analytics Certificate programme, and are designed to help learners boost their technical skills with tools, such as BigQuery, Python and SQL.
These new certificates are part of Google's Gemilang programme, which was launched in Malaysia last year.
A new report entitled "Bridging the skills gap: Fuelling careers and the economy in Malaysia", published by Economist Impact and supported by Google, said there was increasing demand for digital skills.
Key findings of the report include:
1. DIGITAL skills are top priority for employees in Malaysia. Sixty-five per cent of employees consider digital skills, the most important for today's workforce, with most still prioritising basic digital skills (83.1 per cent).
Advanced digital skills, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing and cybersecurity, are also gaining importance;
2. EMPLOYEES in Malaysia value soft skills. More Malaysian employees consider soft skills important (54 per cent) than across the region (41.2 per cent), outpolling employees in Singapore (51 per cent) and Hong Kong (47 per cent).
Employees place emphasis on interpersonal and intercultural communication (81.5 per cent); and,
3. EMPLOYERS and government collaboration can support upskilling needs. Employees place the bulk of responsibility of upskilling on employers.
The government can also play an important role by providing financial support and working with employers to address the information gap on what skills are needed.
Bridging digital skills
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysia has attained ageing nation status and with its youth unemployment rate at 11.1 per cent, and this adds another layer of complexity to the labour market.
Through initiatives like the Gemilang programme, Google said it hopes to bridge the digital skills gap among people from different groups and backgrounds by providing career opportunities in high-growth fields.
Google Malaysia's government affairs and public policy lead Joanne Bala said: "Google is committed to helping Malaysia build a sustainable talent pipeline and we're seeing encouraging results from our Gemilang programme that we run with our public and private sector partners.
"There are more than 3,500 Gemilang graduates in Malaysia, and more than 80 per cent of them have reported positive career outcome, such as a new job, promotion or a salary raise within six months of completing the programme.
"We're announcing new advanced certificates in business intelligence and advanced data analytics, which will help people acquire the technical skills they need to grow in their career, whether that's taking on a new role, assuming more responsibility or gaining a competitive edge."
Preparing Malaysians for jobs
The Google Business Intelligence Certificate will prepare Malaysians for jobs like business intelligence analyst and business intelligence engineer in under two months.
The Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate trains Malaysians for jobs like senior data analysts and junior data scientists in under six months.
Google said Gemilang also offers GCC scholarships for youth, women and underserved communities distributed through local partners, such as Girls in Tech, Malaysia Board of Technologies, Malaysian Digital Association, Mereka Academy, SEGi University & Colleges, Trainocate, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Graduates' view
Khairunnisa Razali, a recent Gemilang graduate in data analytics, said: "The programme is designed to help those in need, especially for women looking to kick-start their career in the tech field, or to upskill themselves.
"To remain relevant in this digital world, I had to upskill myself with knowledge beyond my specialised field of biomedicine.
"It was through Google Career Certificates that I was able to complement my enrolment for a Masters of Business Analytics with the basics learnt through the Google Data Analytics course.
"As a result, I was able to make a career transition from the pharmaceutical industry to the digital and IT field.
"I believe Gemilang is an enabler for more women to make their career switch to the digital economy.".
Recent data analytics certificate graduate Muhammad Zul Aiman Zulkifli said as technology continues to evolve, it is vital for him to ensure that his skills remain up-to-date with technological demands and trends.
"When I started my career as a data analyst, my responsibilities revolved around administrative data work and data entry.
"Upon completing the Google Data Analytics course, I was able to further my career into a data-management centric organisation where I now provide data-driven solutions to clients."
Gemilang includes a group of employers who may hire Google Career Certificate graduates for their open roles.
To improve jobseekers' employability, credibility and competitiveness in the labour market, Google has collaborated with Maukerja to launch the Gemilang Employer Consortium on its website maukerja.my.
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