Indeed, more organisations are pursuing strategic changes on multiple fronts to embrace ESG, create more empowerment and build a stronger sense of purpose and responsibility for their employees. So as we consider the theme of today's conference, "Building a workforce fit for the future", we would do well to remember two things: The future of work is not one that we can predict with precision. We can get the general direction of travel right, but how forces shaping life and work in the foreseeable future unfolds are not always clear or predictable. Second, cultural aspects of the future workforce matter and we need to pay closer attention to how we identify, capture and express culture factors in our workforce strategies. Therefore, alongside the specific consideration of how to build future skills, future talent strategies must also seek to: empower the workforce; preserve a strong focus on standards that can stand the test of time; and create greater agility to meet changing business and employee needs. Allow me to briefly touch on these in turn. Empowering the workforce First, empowering the workforce. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025, half of all employees will need reskilling. For those in existing roles, more than 40% of their skills will need to change to remain relevant. Malaysia faces a similar set of challenges. 85% of companies surveyed by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation acknowledge the need to reskill their employees1.
Such fluid arrangements are also being leveraged to build internal capacity building and support transition. A survey conducted by Capgemini reported that more than 60% of businesses fill new jobs powered by AI and automation with fluid workers first, then gradually seek to transfer knowledge from these specialists to other full-time employees in the organisation. These strategies will have important implications for how we build the future workforce from without rather than within. Such strategies can create greater flexibility for organisations to respond to changing business needs, but they also call for a fundamental re-thinking of pre-existing organisational and cultural norms. As we move forward, deepening employee engagements will become more important to enable firms to better anticipate shifting trends and inform approaches to building a future-fit workforce. It is not uncommon today to find up to four different generations coexisting in many workplaces, each with different perspectives on leadership, learning and workplace culture. Recognising these differences within talent strategies will be important to successfully cultivate a future-ready workforce. Closing message: In closing, I am reminded of the words of Mr. Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State who said: "One of the greatest talents of all, is the talent to recognise and develop talent in others". This lies at the heart of building a workforce fit for the future. We all have a part to play – as employers, professional development bodies, training providers and workers – to build a resilient and sustainable talent pipeline for the future.