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Future-proofing the workforce –one code at a time

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Government and organisations in Asia Pacific are realising the benefits of new technologies as digital spend is expected to have reached US$375.8 billion in 2019. Spending on technologies that enable the digitisation of business practices, products and organisations is also forecasted to steadily increase all the way through to 2022, as we enter an era of digital native enterprises.

While our workflows continue to evolve in a digital-led world, the role of the developer will become more instrumental in driving business growth and enabling organisations to compete in a global economy. 

Software and coding have become so pervasive. They are now a necessity in the modern workplace in Singapore and Asia Pacific. While business leaders and non-tech teams do not need to be software development experts, it is important they gain an element of fluency so they remain relevant, and understand how to best run business operations.

Code and open source are a part of our lives

Code is powering and underpinning every facet of our lives, from how we connect as citizens to our governments, how we shop or access medical records, to how we communicate with our families, live, and work. 

Software has become a key driver of innovation, making coding an absolute necessity to survive and thrive in the modern world. As a result, more organisations in Asia Pacific are tapping into the open-source community to access the wide range of skills available globally, and re-use existing public code. 

Also Read: 9 essential tech skills anyone interested in startups should learn

Open source also enhances collaboration among teams and departments, fostering a smarter way of working and driving innovation, through the implementation of open source best practices within the organisation’s firewall. Called inner sourcing, this practice leads businesses to become more efficient by breaking down barriers and silos, so teams can share skills and better collaborate across the entire organisation. 

This creates a company culture where big ideas thrive, and where everyone contributes to innovation.  

Coding is becoming a life skill

Coding and the adoption of open source practices have much more to offer than just access to technical skills. It can benefit professionals from various backgrounds. 

Coding encourages critical, logical and creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and helps unlock cognitive functions. When fostered, all of those can add incredible value to an organisation, helping businesses create new opportunities and allowing professionals to broaden their career development paths. 

Using the power of open source also enables people to share ideas, experiences, contribute to each other’s projects, which ultimately creates a culture of collaboration and an open business mindset. 

Making an essential skill accessible to anyone, anywhere 

As the demand for tech and coding literate employees continues to rise, it has become obvious that coding should be introduced through education programmes and school curriculum. The Singapore government is taking a step in the right direction by introducing coding to classrooms, with the implementation of a 10-hour programme for upper primary students in 2020.

While we’re starting to see great progress in the education space, it will still be a decade before today’s students are introduced to the workforce. A report shows that 1.7 million students have learned to code on GitHub, 55 per cent more than last year. This is encouraging but we’re only scratching the surface – taking into consideration that there are approximately 200 million college students across the world.

Therefore, it is every organisation’s responsibility to implement coding and open-source literacy trainings as part of its corporate professional development programs. 

The good news is that coding is much more accessible than most business leaders might think. There is a rapid increase in the open-source communities across Asia Pacific.

Also Read: 6 tips for building a successful software development team

Singapore is ranked second for the highest percentage growth of open source contributors and overall contributors across the globe with a 77 per cent increase in 2019 as compared to the previous year.

This is a healthy sign that more members of the workforce are equipping themselves with new skillsets to create impactful software.

Open source platforms provide a fantastic avenue to make coding accessible to anyone, whether you are experienced or have no understanding of software development. The open-source community offers access to a unique pool of public global resources, and millions of qualified developers who are happy to help upskill more individuals.

Coding has become a core part of organisations’ DNA. It is the powerhouse behind every digital project, continuously evolving as every part of the business deepens its digital journey.

Coding literacy needs to become top of mind across the board, from the marketing, sales and operations teams, up to the C-Suite. By gaining coding skills, each individual will become an active contributor to delivering successful innovations, and be empowered to break down silos, create efficiencies, as well as foster a more collaborative and open business mindset. 

It is now up to businesses and government leaders in Asia Pacific to work together to ensure coding literacy be weaved into education and professional training programs, so we can prepare the workforce of tomorrow and equip organisations to succeed in a fast-paced, digital world. This is how our region can become an exporter of innovation.

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Image credit: Danial RiCaRoS on Unsplash

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