Cybersecurity, cloud among most in-demand digital skills in APAC: AWS

According to the AWS report, more than 50% of digital workers in the manufacturing sector believe that they will require cloud and software/web application development skills to perform their jobs whereas 76% of the digital workers today expect cloud computing will be a required competency for digital workers to perform their jobs proficiently by 2025.

Cloud architecture design, cybersecurity, and large-scale data modelling will be among the top in-demand skills over the next five years, says a new report by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The report titled Unlocking APAC's Digital Potential: Changing Digital Skill Needs and Policy Approaches" projects the digital skills required by workforces by 2025. The study surveyed digital workers across six Asia Pacific countries including India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

In India, the study surveyed more than 500 digital workers and interviewed technology experts, business leaders, and policymakers. Here is what the research reveals about India's digital workforce and digital skills:

• Digitally skilled workers currently represent 12% of India's workforce
• The number of workers requiring digital skills will need to increase nine times by 2025
• An average worker will need to develop seven new digital skills by 2025 to keep pace with technology advancements and demand, amounting to a total of 3.9 billion digital skill trainings from 2020 to 2025

Top five in-demand digital skills in India

• Cloud architecture design
• Software operations support
• Website/game/software development
• Large-scale data modelling
• Cybersecurity

According to the AWS report, more than 50% of digital workers in the manufacturing sector believe that they will require cloud and software/web application development skills to perform their jobs whereas 76% of the digital workers today expect cloud computing will be a required competency for digital workers to perform their jobs proficiently by 2025.

In India, higher educational institutions have integrated AWS-designed cloud computing content into their mainstream college syllabus to address the growing requirement for cloud skills.

"The research highlights the demand for more digital workers even in the non-technology sectors such as manufacturing and education. AWS is committed to equipping more students and workers with cloud skills that will help drive digital transformation across all sectors. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with more educational institutions and industry organizations to grow cloud-skilled talent," said Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector, AISPL, AWS India and South Asia.