This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 8, 2023 - May 14, 2023

According to the latest figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), in 2021, the number of graduates in Malaysia increased 4.7% to 5.61 million (2020: 5.36 million), while the graduates’ labour force participation rate (GLFPR) remained at 85%.

Among the employed graduates, over one-third, or 35.2%, were in semi-skilled and low-skilled occupations. This situation can be described as a high rate of occupational mismatch considering their level of education, knowledge and skills.

The incidence of skill-related underemployment with mismatches in skill sets has been one of the most fundamental and structural issues in the labour market, which has intensified since the pandemic.

The situation is more dire for the 2,872 PhD graduates in 2022, of whom only 19.2% in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics managed to secure a job, according to the Minister of Higher Education.

This is an alarming occurrence and warrants serious attention from multiple ministries and agencies. Balancing the demand and supply of skilled jobs is not an easy task. It involves multiple factors and stakeholders, along with continuous monitoring and interventions.

To complicate matters, advances in technology have an increasing impact on jobs today. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought significant changes to the job market. While some jobs are relatively unaffected, others are at risk of being replaced by automation.

Manufacturing jobs have long been affected by automation, with 1.7 million jobs lost to robots and automation systems since the millennium, and up to 20 million jobs could be lost by 2030. About 2.25 million industrial robots are currently in use around the world.

AI has the potential to automate routine tasks and processes, reducing the need for human intervention. Couriers and delivery people are at risk of being replaced by drones and self-driving vehicles.

Since AI is very good at data analysis and outcome prediction, accountants, traders, market research analysts, financial analysts as well as financial advisers could be at risk too.

Is the era of generative AI with ChatGPT ushering in a rescue or worsening the situation, giving rise to fears that AI is displacing all types of jobs?

Many of us have probably encountered chatbots replacing customer service agents, now boosted by ChatGPT. ChatGPT is affecting media jobs, including advertising, copywriting, technical writing, journalism, blogging and content creation, with unprecedented efficiency in reporting and writing.

Creative industries such as graphic designers, writers and artists could be disrupted by the new multimodal GPT that can easily create original artwork, books with illustrations, lyrics, poetry or videos based on detailed text prompts.

Even skilled workers, holding tech jobs as coders, computer programmers, software engineers and data analysts are now at risk of being displaced by ChatGPT’s extensive prompt responses.

Despite the fact that jobs requiring human intervention, critical thinking and interpersonal skills, such as those of educators, scientists and managers, are less likely to be replaced, they may be impacted by AI.

ChatGPT could even nurture entrepreneurship with detailed business ideas and step-by-step business planning proposals. As the latest version of GPT-4 passed law and medical exams with flying colours, no job is unaffected by this revolutionary disruptive technology.

Hence, we should all learn to utilise ChatGPT and AI’s assistance in various tasks, allowing us to focus on higher-level thinking and decision-making with greater productivity.

Imagine how AI can automate the routine and repetitive tasks we do every day to take on challenges previously unattainable. Anyone can use ChatGPT to supercharge their abilities as more rounded, capable AI-augmented professionals and carry out tasks that might fall outside of their skill set or expertise. The possibilities are endless.

On Oct 12, 2022, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced 2023 as the European Year of Skills to put skills at the centre of European economic recovery and competitiveness.

The focus will be on lifelong learning at all levels of society to support the development of new digital skills and technologies for creating a more robust economy with more opportunities for everyone.

The same ethos should be embraced by the entire Malaysian workforce to seek opportunities in the forecasted 97 million new AI-related jobs in various industries by 2025, many of which cannot yet be predicted.

As AI technology continues to develop, it is important for everyone at all stages of their career to stay informed, and upskill or reskill to remain competitive in the job market.

2023 is the year of skills with ChatGPT as it becomes the latest in-demand job qualification!

Hoe-Han Goh is deputy director of the Institute of Systems Biology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

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