JAKARTA — Artificial intelligence (AI) skills are becoming increasingly essential for Filipino workers as the country faces a talent shortage driven by the rapid growth of emerging technologies, according to enterprise IT management software company ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corp.

The call takes on particular weight for the Philippines, whose business process outsourcing (BPO) sector — one of the world's largest — employs well over a million workers and is racing to adapt as AI reshapes service-delivery models across the industry.

Speaking at a media roundtable on July 6, ManageEngine APAC Regional Director Arun Kumar emphasized that AI skill development should extend beyond the corporate environment and be embedded into academic curricula to adequately prepare the future workforce.

"There will be a lot of talent repurpose which is expected to happen — using AI to deliver better work, even in cybersecurity, with IT teams using technologies which are AI-enabled to mitigate attacks," Mr. Kumar said.

He noted that demand for qualified talent will grow across multiple domains. "There will be a lot of talent requirements which will come in the future in both these spaces. This is about how organizations, one, repurpose their existing employees so that they are ready for the future work. And in terms of talent coming in from colleges, are they equipped with this latest technology so that they can be deployed for work?"

The need for AI proficiency is particularly urgent in cybersecurity, Mr. Kumar cautioned, because the same advancements in AI that benefit organizations can also be leveraged by malicious actors to launch more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks.

"I would say it is just not the Philippines today when it comes to the skill shortage, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity, given the number of attacks happening in the last five years, particularly the way most of the businesses have transformed digitally without a phased approach," he said.

The post-pandemic shift toward cloud adoption and remote work has significantly widened organizations' vulnerability, he added. "What has completely transformed after COVID is people taking the cloud approach, enabling remote workforces. Basically, they have expanded the attack surface, which has created a lot of opportunities for the attackers to attack."

To keep pace with the growing volume and complexity of cyber threats, companies have had to scale up their cybersecurity systems, a challenge compounded by governments' broader pushes for digital transformation. The Philippines has been pursuing its own digital infrastructure modernization program, adding urgency to the domestic talent pipeline conversation.

At the same time, businesses are increasingly deploying AI to streamline operations and strengthen their competitive positioning, making the technology a fixture across industries worldwide.

"There are two ways companies can look at AI. They can use AI to deliver better business outcomes and implement AI in terms of their own workflows or automations or processes. So, there is definitely a lot of opportunity when it comes to AI talent required in each of these markets. In terms of talent shortage, I think this is to do with more enablement, more training programs," Mr. Kumar said.

— Aaron Michael C. Sy