Digital competency jobs in high demand in Philippines — LinkedIn

MANILA, Philippines — Digital competency is in high demand as data scientists and application development analysts emerged as the most sought-after jobs in the country, the latest report from online professional network LinkedIn showed. 

The 2019 Emerging Jobs in the Philippines Report by LinkedIn showed the other emerging jobs in the country are back end developer, full stack engineer and sales development representative.

LinkedIn’s report is based on an analysis of millions of unique, user-input job titles from the last five years.

“Our Emerging Jobs Report highlights the reality that new jobs are emerging more rapidly than at any other time in history. Traditional roles have evolved into hybrids that did not exist five years ago. While the top emerging jobs for Philippines are mostly related to technology, many of them require soft skills such as management and communications skills, making them hybrids of new and traditional roles,” said Feon Ang, vice president of talent and learning solutions for Asia Pacific at LinkedIn.

Even as there have been concerns on automation taking over routine tasks and jobs of low-skilled business process outsourcing workers, LinkedIn said such have also helped the sector evolve and move up the value chain by upgrading skills and working on big data, data analytics, cyber security, blockchain, digital commerce and fintech.

LinkedIn said the rise of knowledge outsourcing would mean more organizations offering complex services and the need for hybrid talent with both soft and hard skills to communicate their unique value to clients and build lasting customer relationships.

Demand for jobs in technology is increasing amid ongoing digitalization both in the public and private sectors.

Also contributing to the demand is the Philippines’ emerging startup scene.

Startups engaged in fintech, agriculture, retail and engineering, among others, require expertise to deliver innovative products to provide solutions to local market problems and improve people’s lives.

While the demand for digital talent is growing fast, supply is currently low.

LinkedIn’s report shows how like every other country, the Philippines is facing a challenge in building its digital workforce.

To meet the demand, companies are encouraged to look at providing opportunities for employees to upskill or reskill.

In addition, human resources and talent acquisition teams would need to evolve and adopt a new approach when hiring individuals as looking at a candidate’s title is no longer enough.

“Digital competence, as we now know, is composed of a blend of hard and soft skills. This competition for talent will only grow fiercer, so organizations need to build an adaptable workforce. Real-time understanding of the demand and supply of skills, talent pools and talent movement is the first step towards building talent intelligence at scale,” Ang said.