Asia’s youth must be taught skills to keep up with technology, experts say

Asia’s youth must be equipped with the skills to adapt to rapid advances in technology if they are to avoid unemployment, according to experts at a conference in Hong Kong.

And that may require a fundamental change in the way they are educated, delegates at the 11th Asian Financial Forum said on Tuesday.

With banks increasingly using chat bots to talk to customers, drones taking over deliveries and driverless cars being developed, the next generation need to equip themselves with the skills to adapt to the fast-shifting requirements of the jobs market.

“The pervasive changes we are seeing today are something we haven’t seen before,” said Vivek Pathak, director, East Asia & the Pacific, International Finance Corporation. “The question is do we have the skills for the jobs of tomorrow? That should concern governments and the public at large. The skills you needed to get a job 25 years ago may not be valid today.”

Without new skill sets, the younger generation could fall behind.

Hong Kong-based venture capitalist Simon Squibb last year predicted that major cities like Hong Kong, London and New York will face unemployment rates of more than 80 per cent by 2030, as artificial intelligence and robotics displace humans.