School of Marketing and Management, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation, Kuala Lumpur, 57000, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Faculty of Business and Communication, INTI International University, Nilai, 71800, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
F1000Res. 2024 Apr 25;13:389. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.148514.1. eCollection 2024.
A major workforce inadequacy and the change in skill demanded have been observed due to the digital transformation. This study aims to identify the digital skills demanded by employers, focusing on exploring the skills gaps among the graduates that impact graduate employability.
A cross sectional online survey was conducted among the companies registered with the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC). Demand for digital skills was assessed using descriptive analysis of mean scores of the employers' rating in digital skills at present and in future. A pair sample t-test was performed to explore the existence of skill gaps, by comparing the demand versus competencies of the graduates' digital skills in the workplace.
Of the 393 responses collected, 376 responses were used for final analysis. The findings show that the current top three digital skills in demand are "information and data literacy", "problem-solving", and "digital content creation". Whereas the top digital skills for future demand are "problem-solving", "safety", and "communication and collaboration". In addition, the most significant (digital) skill gap is found in "communication and collaboration skills" followed by "problem-solving" and "safety" skills.
These findings provide insights into the digital skills demanded by employers in IR 4.0, allowing the practitioners, education service providers and policymakers to do better planning on human capital management and training development. By focusing on identifying the current and future demand for digital skills while exploring the digital skill gaps among the graduates, this study provides insight into the employability skills required by the graduate before entering the job market.
由于数字化转型，人们观察到主要劳动力不足和所需技能发生变化。本研究旨在确定雇主所需的数字技能，重点探讨影响毕业生就业能力的毕业生技能差距。
对马来西亚生产力公司（MPC）注册的公司进行了横断面在线调查。使用雇主对当前和未来数字技能的评分的均值进行描述性分析来评估数字技能的需求。通过比较毕业生在工作场所的数字技能需求与能力，进行配对样本 t 检验，以探索技能差距的存在。
在收集的 393 份回复中，有 376 份用于最终分析。研究结果表明，目前需求最高的前三项数字技能是“信息和数据素养”、“解决问题”和“数字内容创作”。而未来需求的顶级数字技能是“解决问题”、“安全”和“沟通与协作”。此外，发现最大的（数字）技能差距是“沟通和协作技能”，其次是“解决问题”和“安全”技能。
这些发现提供了雇主在 IR4.0 中所需数字技能的见解，使从业者、教育服务提供商和政策制定者能够更好地规划人力资本管理和培训发展。通过关注确定当前和未来的数字技能需求，同时探讨毕业生的数字技能差距，本研究为毕业生进入就业市场前所需的就业技能提供了深入的了解。
