More than any other surveyed Asia Pacific region, Singapore workers place a high priority in digital skills with more than 90% of firms adopting some form of digital technology, according to a survey from the Economist Impact and Google.

The survey was conducted of 1,375 employees across the APAC region, including 100 employees from Singapore, between November 2022 and January 2023 across 14 markets. The respondents were a mix of Gen Z (11.8%), Millennials (63.2%), and Gen X (25%).

Research shows that 69% of Singapore workers, the highest among the 14 surveyed APAC markets, prioritised advanced digital skills such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing. A potential 120% boost in salaries and more bargaining power seem to drive motivation to acquire new digital skills, the survey suggests.

While Singapore workers consider advanced digital skills of high importance, they consider basic digital skills a ‘must have’ at 75.4%, just above the regional average of 73.9%. Other skills categories of importance to Singapore include analytical skills at 53% and soft skills at 51%.

Survey results also show that cybersecurity is considered a ‘must have’ by 24.6% and ‘good to have’ by 68.1%. The Economist Impact noted that these skills are considered key to ensure business continuity given the spate of security breaches within the past year.

The report also highlights the concerns for employees in upskilling and reskilling to improve employee performance. Around 42% of employees say they lack the time to learn new skills due to long working hours and caregiving responsibilities, and 49% say they don’t have a grasp of which skills are in demand in the job market. Even more employees at 61% say they rely on government awareness programmes for information about which skills will be valuable in the future.