Automation and the Transformation of Work in Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century
July 31, 2019
01

The APRU Report, Transformation of Work in Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century, was launched in Singapore on July 11, 2019. Dr Faizal bin Yahya, Senior Research Fellow at Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), contributed Singapore’s case studies to the sixth chapter of the report, which highlights the advances Singapore has made in introducing digitalization in its economy and offered suggestions on future related initiatives. This report also emphasized the need for greater synergy between academia and industry to help workers remain employable in a fast-evolving business environment and a digital economy.

The event started with an overview of APRU and project developments introduced by the APRU International Secretariat. Follow up the project’s major findings and policy recommendations were presented by Prof Tam Kar-Yan who is the project lead of this collaborative work and the Dean of the Business School, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Dr Faizal was a moderator in the following panel chairing an in-depth discussion on Singapore’s cases. The panelists included Mr Patrick Tay, Director of Legal and Strategy and Assistant Secretary-General of National Trades Union Congress, Dr Jaclyn Lee, Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Fellow and SUTD Academy of Singapore University of Technology and Design and, Mr Abhijit Chavan, Director of Intelligent Automation, PwC South East Asia Consulting.

The key themes behind the ensuing discussions revolved around a mindset shifting and industry transformation. Most participants agreed that it was important to have leaders with a long-term vision within organizations to promote digital transformation in the workplace in an organic and non-hostile approach. It was noted that many people especially workers were unaware of the changes were occurring. As such, most of them were unprepared when disruptions impacted their work or displaced them.

Adapting to a transformative work environment is also important. There has been an accelerated growth in technology advancements to a point that pessimism tends to dominate the minds of workers that they fear many jobs will be automated away. It is, therefore, necessary to equip workers with relevant new skills that are needed for the digital economy.

The training of workers necessitates the transformation of educational institutions. Graduates now need to be equipped with broader skillsets to promote flexibility and agility in a transformative landscape. Computational skills are also necessary in many fields such as human resources though it should be introduced in a way where there is buy-in from the workers themselves.

 

See the photos here.

Related Articles
APRU Launches New Project to Explore Generative AI’s Impact on Higher Education
more
AI for Social Good Summit Gathered Academics and Gov’t Representatives to Showcase Joint Research Outcomes Enhancing Wellbeing in Southeast Asia
more
Public Agencies from Thailand Participated in AI for Social Good Summit
more
Country Workshop Aims to Turn AI Research Results into Actionable Public Policy
more
New Joint Synthesis Report by APRU and hbs HK Shows Way Forward on Regulating AI
more
Workshop Reveals Impressive Progress on AI for Social Good Project
more
APRU on Bloomberg: The next stage: APRU-Google-UN ESCAP AI for Social Good Project now working directly with government agencies
more
APRU and Government Partners Organize Workshop to Strengthen AI policy in the Asia-Pacific Region
more
No Easy Answers on Protection of AI Data Rights, Webinar by HBS and APRU Shows
more
Webinar by Heinrich Böll Stiftung and APRU takes deep dive into Explainable AI
more
Heinrich Böll Stiftung and APRU Discuss Risk-based Governance of AI in First Joint Webinar
more
APRU on China Daily: Your seat at the table depends on how innovative you are
more
APRU on The Business Times: Safeguarding Our Future With AI Will Need More Regulations
more
APRU on South China Morning Post: Governments, business and academia must join hands to build trust in AI’s potential for good
more
APRU on Times Higher Education: ‘Oversight needed’ so AI can be used for good in Asia-Pacific
more
APRU releases AI for Social Good report in partnership with UN ESCAP and Google: Report calls for AI innovation to aid post-COVID recovery
more
AI for Social Good network releases new report
more
DiDi and APRU strengthen partnership with MoU and new APEC project
more
AI For Everyone: New Open Access Book
more
Accelerating Indonesia’s Human Capital Transformation for Future of Work
more
AI Policy for the Future: Can we trust AI?
more
APRU Partners to Close the Digital Skills Gap at APEC
more
Kick-off for AI for Social Good―A United Nations ESCAP-APRU-Google Collaborative Network and Project
more
APEC Project DARE (Data Analytics Raising Employment)
more
1
24