Leveraging AI to upskill workforce in the Philippines

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) usage across different industries, companies invest in knowledgeable workers capable of adapting to this technology according to Veemal Gungadin, Co-Founder and CEO of GevMe.

“In the Philippines, there are people who are really early adopters who are actually excited with AI… I think leveraging the early adopters is the way to go about that at an organizational level,” Mr. Gungadin said last Thursday at the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions Conference (M.I.C.E. CON) 2024.

A recent study released by Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn on May 23 revealed that the Philippines surpassed the global average usage of AI in workplaces, with 86% of Filipino knowledge workers using AI in their outputs.

Additionally, 70% of executives in the Philippines show a preference for recruiting individuals with AI expertise, while 68% opt for hiring a less seasoned candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one.

Mr. Gungadin added that learning about AI makes you more valuable as an employee.

“The best thing is to get equipped with AI so that you make yourself more valuable in your company,” he said.

Although there’s an increasing interest in the said technology across the country, it was also mentioned that Filipino workers do not receive enough training on how to utilize it properly in workplaces.

“Only Filipino AI users are 30% more likely to get training, especially on prompts (23% more likely) and using AI for their specific role or function (37% more likely).”

According to Bernardo M. Villegas in a Zoom interview last May 1, 60% of the IT and BPO sectors in the country were threatened by AI and robotics because they are in customer services, which are the “easiest” to robotize.

“So they have to make sure that they are very proactive in taking their existing workers and preparing them for knowledge-intensive work,” Mr. Villegas said.

Mr. Gungandin shared that fear must not overcome workers during this time.

“AI will not replace your job. But you know who will get your job? Somebody using AI,” he said. – Almira Louise S. Martinez