New skills required for higher paying, future jobs in IT, business process management

Wilfredo Sa-a Jr., managing director of Cebu ICT-BPM Organization, cites the need for new skillset of employees for future jobs in the IT BPM industry. | CDN Digital file photo — Irene R. Sino Cruz

CEBU CITY — While Cebu’s information technology  and business process management (BPM) sector continue to be the main economic driver in Cebu, there is a need to equip the present and future workforce with the needed skills for future jobs.

Wilfredo Sa-a Jr., managing director of the Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIB.O), noted that with more processed robotic automation, some jobs, including those considered competitive jobs, would be replaced by machines.

“Slowly some jobs will be replaced by machines. And these are the very repetitive jobs,” Sa-a told CDN Digital.

He cited as example the telephone companies, which used to offer  directory service, which had now been handled by machines through counters.

“We are looking now at more complex operations requiring decision-making skills. Our people need more knowledge so that they can handle more complicated questions that may be asked. And, of course, they need more skills training for jobs that require technical know-how,” he said.

In preparation for the more complex jobs, CIB.O has started coding training in basic programming for senior high school students in some public high schools in Cebu City, Sa-a revealed.

This project is in partnership with the Cebu City School Board and the Department of Education Cebu City.

He said that future jobs would be requiring these skills. 

“We have pilot schools that are doing the coding training,” Sa-a said.

Although their initial plan was to train 200 students, around 500 students had joined the training, he said.

According to Sa-a, they have been doing assessments to see if they can also offer the coding training to elementary students.

Mckinsey Global report

A  report from the McKinsey Global Institute showed that workers with skillsets in physical and manual, and basic cognitive skill are more likely to be affected by automation of some jobs.

Physical and manual skills are used by unskilled workers such as assembly line workers, among others.

Basic cognitive abilities such as basic literacy and numeracy are those needed by cashiers, customer service and low level day input and processing like clerk and typists.

On the other hand, the Mckinsey report showed that there will be greater demand for workers higher cognitive, social and emotional, and technological skills.

Higher cognitive skills refer to advanced literacy and writing, quantitative and statistical skills, critical thinking, creativity and complex information processing. These skills are used by accountants, research analysts, doctors, editors and writers.

Social and emotional or soft skills refer to advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, the ability to learn continuously, to manage others and be adaptable.

Meanwhile, technology skills include basic to advance IT skills, data analysis, engineering and research.

Sa-a noted that companies also need to prepare their workforce by doing reskilling or upskilling to prepare them for the disruption that will be brought about by the 4th industrial revolution./dbs