With Indonesia set to become the biggest digital economy in South East Asia, people with strong IT and interpersonal skills will be in high demand, says senior academic Dr Alan Sixsmith from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
With public and government sectors, and citizens interested in leveraging digital technology to enhance the quality of life for Indonesians, the latest report by McKinsey estimates that harnessing new digital technologies could add more than USD$150 billion (approximately 10 percent of GDP) to Indonesia’s yearly economic output within 10 years.
As the urgency for digital transformation in enterprises increases, the need for skilled IT professionals is growing rapidly.
“Strong IT infrastructure and digital technologies should promote economic growth and productivity, connecting more people into the Indonesian economy, and encouraging innovation and new markets access,” says Dr Alan Sixsmith, an IT academic from UTS in Sydney, Australia.
“With global demand for IT specialists accelerating, those who have deep skills in developing and managing IT will remain at the front of the pack,” he added.
“Getting the right human capital to deliver on the opportunities ahead will be challenging, as Indonesian employers and start-ups need strong IT skills, but these employees need to come with strong ‘soft skills’ and social skills to build effective teams,” he says.
Dr Sixsmith has been visiting Indonesia conducting a series of school workshops with UTS Insearch in Denpasar, Jakarta, Palembang and Surabaya to highlight the careers available in IT.