On the ground: (From left) Abdul Rahman, Sim, Lee Boon Cheng, Wong Hsun Wei, Wong Kim Hooi, Leow Chew Yean and Azman at the Majlis Penghargan Wira Negara WSC Lyon 2024. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Approximately 16% of the 97 job roles in the financial sector are expected to be significantly transformed by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), says Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
“We are looking at roles such as customer service officers, investment advisory and execution analysts, direct sales agents, product sales officers, relationship managers, business development managers, credit and lending officers, investment operations as well as security service officers.
“Three quarters (75%) of roles will experience medium to low impact, while about 9% will be emerging roles, which are not commonly seen in the sector currently but will gain prominence soon.
“These emerging roles include machine learning specialists, integration architects, cloud engineers, digital transformation and adoption analysts, community partnership advisers, and sustainability and employee well-being officers,” he said during his speech at the launch of the National Human Capital Conference and Exhibition (NHCCE) 2024 held by the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) here yesterday.
According to Sim, in the ICT sector, 8% of current roles will be highly impacted, including security operation analysts, data analysts, application support engineers, data centre infrastructure engineers, network engineers, IT auditors and cyber risk analysts.
“Emerging skills in this sector include emerging technology synthesis, automation management, test planning, IT strategy and solution architecture,” he added.
Sim also highlighted the use of AI technology in providing recommendations for grant applications and claims submitted by employers or training providers based on preset logic and criteria.
“AI will analyse the provided information and documents, and suggest whether the application should be approved or rejected, or if additional information is required,” he explained.
Sim shared an example of the benefit of using AI, stating that it had helped reduce the grant application processing time at HRD Corp from 154 hours in 2022 (with 239,776 applications processed) to 19 hours in 2023 (with 359,170 applications processed).
“Another example is in the Social Security Organisation (Socso), where we issue guarantee letters (GLs) to our contributors, provided for free for those needing implants for rehabilitation.
“Normally, it takes three days to issue a GL. Today, we are using AI to speed up the process of verifying the eligibility of contributors within one hour,” he added.
NHCCE 2024, held from Sept 30 to Oct 2, is the flagship annual conference organised by the HRD Corp, an agency under the Human Resources Ministry dedicated to national human capital development through upskilling and reskilling.
This year’s theme is Humanising AI for the Future Workforce, focusing on how HR practitioners can leverage AI for future workforce strategies.The conference will feature over 4,000 global delegates and more than 30 speakers, including international figures like Mehdi Hasan, Shawn Kanungo and John Mattone, as well as local figures such as Venon Tian, co-founder and COO of Zus Coffee, and Pei Si Lai, CEO of GXBank.
NHCCE 2024 will include panel discussions, interactive sessions and networking opportunities to foster global exchange.
Additionally, it will host one of the largest exhibition areas in the region, with over 300 exhibitors showcasing the latest in upskilling, wellness platforms and technology.
Sim also attended an appreciation ceremony for Malaysian champions at the recent WorldSkills Competition (WSC) Lyon 2024, where Malaysia’s contingent featured 15 participants who returned home with a bronze medal in beauty therapy, and four medals for excellence in electrical installations, bricklaying, IT software solutions for business and hairdressing.
Wong Hsun Wei, a student from Sense Perfect International College, won the bronze medal in beauty therapy and was also named “Best of Nation”.
Sim presented the medals, mock cheques and certificates to the winners and encouraged all parties to strive for excellence.
The competition featured 1,400 skilled youths from 69 countries competing in 62 skill areas.
Malaysia placed 32nd overall, surpassing several advanced countries, an achievement highlighting the competency and quality of Malaysia’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
Also present were Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad, ministry secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof and HRD Corp chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid.
