Myanmar must train a new digitally literate generation to keep pace with its rapidly expanding IT sector, a senior manager at Microsoft has said.
Michelle Simmons, the software giant’s general manager for new markets in Southeast Asia, said it was a “key priority” for Myanmar to train professionals to enable the country’s “digital transformation.”
Speaking to the Oxford Business Group, a consultancy, she said Microsoft’s work in the Asia-Pacific region had shown “it is clear that the youth face an opportunity divide – a gap between those who have access to skills and training and those who do not.”
She added: “As Myanmar develops economically, the transition from education to employment will be one of the main obstacles facing the youth, as too many young people in the region are failing to develop the right skills for today and tomorrow’s job market.”
Another top priority for Myanmar’s digital economy was developing infrastructure to support cloud computing, she said. Allowing companies to store large amounts of data online, rather than on their own servers, would help the country to “overcome deficiencies in basic infrastructure development,” she said.
Microsoft recently launched its Office 365 cloud-based platform in Myanmar.
“With the cloud, emerging economies can leapfrog the technology life cycle to adopt advanced technology, take advantage of the lower costs for building infrastructure and access enterprise quality technology that will drastically increase productivity and agility,” Simmons added.
Source: Myanmar Business Today
