The competition for tech talent has existed since before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and with tech advancing rapidly, there is a widening gap between the ever-changing needs of industries and the academic curriculum of tertiary educational institutions. To bridge this gap, passionate industry players are taking bold steps by providing upskilling opportunities that ensure graduates are industry-ready.

PETRONAS is one such organisation that not only nurtures the nation's future talent but is also passionate about accelerating the development of the nation's digital talent. The company set up the BeDigital Bootcamp, a two-week curated programme, to strengthen local graduates' digital literacy, thereby enhancing their employability and meeting the demands of current and future employers.

Launched in March 2022, the first bootcamp was held in Sabah. In 2023, it was expanded to Sarawak and the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia. In total, five bootcamps have been held over two years, with 364 participants from 16 local universities.

PETRONAS works with industry partners to support human capital development towards achieving the nation's digital economic aspirations. The company now has more than 80 hiring partners participating in the BeDigital Bootcamp, and a total of 174 conditional employment offers have been issued under the initiative.

One of PETRONAS' partners is Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Malaysia. TCS Malaysia has participated in the programme since its inception.

TCS Malaysia Country Head and Board Member, Jeevan Rajoo, says the company shares PETRONAS' passion for talent and nation-building and that it is focused on creating jobs for youth who can, in turn, impact their respective societies at large.

"In every country, you will notice that the gap between what university graduates have to offer and the demand from the workforce is there. Our job is to find out how we can reduce that gap via various training programmes that we have within TCS and PETRONAS, so that these youngsters who come and join the workforce would become passionate for a larger cause, motivated enough to make a difference in the community as well as society," he adds.

"We are trying to infuse this idea where one doesn't look for a job just for the sake of it but also to be driven to serve the community at large. That's where we use digital as an avenue to get these youngsters excited for a larger purpose.

"We invite youngsters to join the programme, specifically fresh graduates, skilled and trained and digitally literate, so that they have good employability once they enter the workforce. We have also hired many Malaysian talent, including some from East Malaysia," he says, adding that the company has hired 60 graduates from the programme, all of whom have shown great passion for their work and found a purpose in what they do.

Youngsters need to be trained for very specific tech needs, such as data science, software engineering and cybersecurity, as the demand is high. These are niche areas and with the rapid evolution of technology, Jeevan says all universities need to start thinking about how they can become much more agile to produce the right set of talent, or adapt to the future of learning and work.

Organisations would then come in to close any skills gap by training the talent and putting them into suitable roles, he adds.

Jeevan believes that PETRONAS' BeDigital Bootcamp is the first of its kind pathfinder for talent in Malaysia, including those from remote areas like Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.

"It's not just about getting the right talent but more importantly, it is ensuring that opportunities are easily accessible, whereby they don't need to look for a job because it is literally at their doorstep.

"At TCS, we are happy to give them exposure, from a talent and training perspective. In return, they would have a glimpse of how large organisations like PETRONAS and TCS work."

Jeevan explains that at TCS Malaysia, the bootcamp candidates are put together in the same environment to interact with each other, share knowledge and learn to work together to solve problems that are put forward by the company. This provides full hands-on learning experience, pushing the candidates to think outside the box to develop problem-solving skills.

The talent at TCS have performed well within the organisation despite personal and societal challenges, and Jeevan hopes that the current talent will be able to train future talent, be it from the BeDigital Bootcamp or just within the organisation itself.

As artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability - specifically, environmental, social and governance (ESG) - are important elements for any organisation today, Jeevan says graduates need to be well-trained digitally and understand the implications of inculcating ESG practices for the betterment of the future.

"Doing good for the environment and everything around us will become the norm and they need to understand why it is important before they can apply it properly," he says.

AI is expected to be adopted by nearly 75% of surveyed companies, "with 50% of the organisations expecting it to create job growth", according to the companies surveyed in the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023.

Furthermore, Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran predicted in his book, titled Bridgital Nation: Solving Technology's People Problem, that AI could add 30 million jobs by 2025 and could become a major driver in global economic growth.

Jeevan believes that programmes like the BeDigital Bootcamp can bring awareness to local talent that they do not need to leave Malaysia to have good job opportunities. He adds that Malaysia has the potential to become an ASEAN hub for digital talent.

"We have an advantage because of the languages we use and accessibility to all the neighbouring countries. The challenge will be to find talent who are passionate enough to be trained to be the world's talent."