Malaysia only 7th tech savvy workforce in Asean

Singapore and Thailand take the lead with the most tech savvy workforce in Asean, while Malaysia trailed behind Indonesia  but is ahead of Myanmar.

A short survey conducted by SkootJobs.com reveals that the Malaysian workforce lacks the know-how in areas of technology that Malaysia's job market and other job markets around the world deem important. The survey had 3 questions and the organisation has released the results of one.

The question that took precedence over others was "Do you know how to build a simple website?" (Yes/No). Respondents were Facebook users from Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei and the Philippines.

The survey found that 63.4% of Singaporeans have the technical skills and knowledge to build a site. Additionally, 59.3% of respondents from Thailand said they know how to build a website followed by Laos (58.8%), Vietnam (57.2%), Cambodia (52.4%). Half (50%) of the Indonesian respondents stated that they can build a website.

However, among Malaysians only 46% of Malaysian Facebook users who responded to the survey were capable of building a simple website. While Myanmar (41.6%), Brunei (34.5%) and the Philippines (25.6%).

Asim Qureshi, the CEO of SkootJobs.com, says “Being tech competent is no longer a bonus, but a basic skill that employers are looking for. I am concerned that Malaysia ranks below some less developed countries. I feel changes are needed in the education system which should equip students with the technology basics, and also give students the confidence to self-learn in general. I often see fresh graduates in Malaysia with shockingly poor IT literacy, coupled with an unwillingness to learn without being spoonfed. Singapore coming on top was no big surprise, given its excellent education system, but I was surprised to see Thailand, Laos and Vietnam not far behind.”

One of the main reasons why IT skills are no longer a bonus is because of the tools that are available out there for the young workforce to learn and use. For instance, in terms of building websites, there is an abundance of services that offer basic tools for free like WordPress and Weebly. Other services like Wix.com and Squarespace.com cost as little as US$5 per month to create a useful website.

These tools do not require sophisticated programming skills and in many instances no programming at all. Additionally, HTML, CSS and PHP skills, the essential skills in web development, can be self-learned and the material is available for free on various websites. Numerous video tutorials  are also available on YouTube.

This survey reached 150,000 users across these countries.