KUALA LUMPUR – Skill is at the forefront of almost every employer’s mind these days when it comes to hiring and retaining their workers, said Employment platform LinkedIn.
According to its “Future of Talent” report, skills were preferred over qualifications such as education or experience.
“Skill will continue to pave the way for economic recovery and growth, as it becomes a new currency for workers in the future,” the platform said in a press release.
The report also noted that 85% of companies in Malaysia are willing to hire internally, and are looking for “soft skills”, including problem-solving, communication and strategic thinking skills.
“On top of hiring externally, companies in Malaysia are willing to tap into existing talent to fill vacancies.
“To help their employees learn new skills, many companies have a dedicated training programme.
“We also found that HR played a bigger role during the pandemic, such as taking the lead in training employees.
“As we move into the post-Covid-19 era, HR is set to be at the forefront of company strategy,” it said.
Last year, LinkedIn said that there was increased demand for skills, spurring workers to pick up new ones, while organisations began practising skills-based hiring.
This trend is set to continue.
It said the report also found that more companies preferred hiring candidates with technical skills (38%) and transferable skills (28%).
Other traditional qualifiers, such as education, received 10% of the votes, while minimum years of experience were preferred by 12%.
LinkedIn said two-thirds (67%) of companies are open to hiring employees from another industry if the skills they possess matched the job requirements.
“As organisations look beyond assessing a candidate solely based on traditional qualifiers and turn their focus towards skills, they are able to plug vital skills gaps while reaping the rewards of a more diverse and adaptable workforce,” it added.
LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions for APAC vice-president Feon Ang noted that new roles have been created owing to the pandemic, while existing ones have evolved.
“Hiring talent with the right skills set for these roles is very important to organisations and, these days, it matters less that the talent has the traditional qualifications or industry experience,” Feon said.
“Going forward, we can expect to see a skills-based economy taking shape, with skills becoming the new currency for workers in the future world of work.
“I encourage all individuals to adopt a growth mindset, and keep learning to stay relevant.” – The Vibes, April 14, 2021
