There is more than one way to learn skills in the 21st century economy, so what kind of skills are in demand in 2021? Let's take a look at the in-demand skills that are highly sought out in industries in Malaysia, and also what everyone (especially fresh graduates) should either learn on their own or at any of these 10 places that we’ve listed for you where you can learn these skills from experts. Be it part-time or full-time courses, consider these options if you want to harness your skills and become a real life jack-of-all-trades, master of all.

1. Human resources - Open University Malaysia

Let's face the facts: departments of human resources will always remain relevant (although we’re not completely discounting the possibility of robot resources in the future). At this day and age, it has become an in-demand skill and course to learn as more and more startups and businesses are expanding, making new hires despite the market looking dismal and frankly depressing after being hit by COVID-19 restrictions in the early days. Now, the market is getting back on its feet as vaccine rollouts have started to happen the world over.

The fact of the matter is, this is a great course to get started on and learn to be a professional in because if you are a human resource graduate, your skill set is diverse enough for multiple roles in administration, business development, and human resource functions. That to us is crucial for any company to develop and grow as an entity.
 

There are two different modes of education that Open University Malaysia offer, which are self-learning and online learning. The former offers students face-to-face tutorials, self-managed learning pace, and online learning platforms while the latter is purely an online digital course.

Open University address: Menara OUM, Block C, Kelana Centre Point, Jalan SS 7/19, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

2. myClass - British Council Malaysia

Being able to speak English language fluently has become an important prerequisite for almost all job interviews in Malaysia today as most private and government sectors are looking for people who have the skills to communicate and give out ideas to the mass market, which globally have adopted English as a lingua franca for business, plus English teachers are in demand in Malaysia. 

The myClass course at the British Council is designed to help students to speak confidently and fluently, build on listening, speaking, writing and reading skills, improve your vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation, all done in a professional, business-like environment with all the latest technology available to help you achieve your goals in mastering the English language.

With 20 lessons spread across 90 hours, you must complete the lessons for each level you are set to cover all the necessary and extra knowledge offered by the council. However, there are examinations for you to take before moving on to the next levels. 

British Council Malaysia address: Ground Floor, West Block, Wisma Golden Eagle Realty 142C, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

3. Web Development Bootcamp - NEXT Academy

Taking up new skills can be tough especially if you were just laid off or are a fresh graduate. Nowadays, looking for a job is hard because the market is too saturated with people of a similar or exact skill set you have, so what can set you apart from your competition?

Next Academy offers a web development bootcamp that will set you apart from your colleagues that have not bothered to take up this crucial skill. Despite having applications that are basically drag and drop, you still need a human’s touch in web development to cater to what your audience likes and what fits the company’s aesthetics, like a tailored suit.

Instead of simply discovering apps in the market, the 10-week, 400-hour course gets your hands dirty by learning how to code, program, store data, and design websites through a full-course program by The Next Academy.

Next Academy address: AG-7, Glomac Damansara, Jalan Damansara, Tmn Tun Dr Ismail, 60000.

4. Third language classes - Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) offers a cacophony of language classes, which is highly useful if you are planning on working in a multinational corporation, or working overseas and want to communicate with your colleagues and friends there with ease. 

You can easily pick up language classes such as German, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Tamil, Thai, and French at the UTAR Centre For Extension Education. For 30 hours of classes, and a payment of RM488, you will be awarded a certificate by the university when you complete the course. 

The course is relatively useful for young executives to participate in discussions with stakeholders from other countries and for those who are looking to migrate to another country, and having learnt the language would look impressive in the CV.

UTAR address:

Kampar: Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak.

Selangor: Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras 43000, Kajang, Selangor.

5. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop - WebWeaver Learning Centre

This is for the creatives who are looking to expand their talent and score better jobs or become better creators for their own business, or even for their YouTube channels. Another plus point of learning AI and Photoshop is that visual content plays an important role in the digital marketing industry today, especially with the move from print media to digital media. 

The graphic design course at WebWeaver Learning Centre spans 9 classes, taking up 18 hours and teaches the required skills and tools needed to design company logos, flyers, banners, websites icons, greeting cards, layouts and much more.

With a rather small class of 20 at a time, your attention with the instructors isn't impeded by the amount of participants. You will be able to explore possibilities that the softwares have to offer and brainstorm creative ideas to help your career development.

WebWeaver Learning Centre: 33-1, Jalan Supiah Pillay, Off Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (Formerly, Jalan Ipoh), 51200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

6. Digital skills training - Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

Established way back in 1996 under the MSC Malaysia Initiative, today under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Commision (MCMC), MDEC has aspirations to firmly establish Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN, making Malaysia a powerhouse in the IR 4.0 movement in ASEAN region. 

MDEC offers digital skills training which covers in-demand digital skills, after being reviewed by industry experts to guide you into selecting the best courses to meet your career needs for the booming digital economy in Malaysia and prepare you for the international industry.

From programming and 3D modelling to cyber security and game development, MDEC has a whole host of courses to meet your every need. The Digital Skills Training is offered to give support to Malaysians that want the training in order to be a better entrepreneur and creative in the country, and be a wave maker in the international community.

MDEC address: 2360 Persiaran APEC, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

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Moving on from the physical world, because of COVID-19, almost every physical classroom is now an online classroom, and moving forward, online classes have become the norm in most of our lives from 2020 onwards. What are the skills you can learn from home? Let’s touch on 4 now.

1. Programming for Everybody - University of Michigan

Python is not only a species of snakes but it is an interpreted, high-level and general-purpose programming language. Now, learning python usually meant going to expert courses in a school or university but now, with the move to online classes, University of Michigan has moved to make the course a free for all course.

A course that will take 6 weeks and 4 hours each week to learn the basics of python programming, the learning experience will be at your own pace and you can take your own time to learn programming which can be a great additional skill when it comes to working in the digital world we live in now. 

In the course of 6 weeks you will learn: how to understand a program, use variables in programs, conditional execution (if statements), repeated execution/looping (for statements) and functions and code reuse. 

2. Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management - University of Virginia

This course is not an on demand course, but is run online by the University of Virginia. In light of the pandemic, they made this move to improve your project planning and management skills and learn how to run effective projects at work or in your daily life.

Over a course of 4 weeks and 2 hours of classes each week, you will learn project planning techniques, principles and execution methods to create projects that can be run more effectively and efficiently. Making you a great project manager, you will also learn how to create a project plan that will be used in many situations, a chameleon of projects if you will. 

While you develop your skills in the course as a project manager, you would also be trained in risk assessment, budgeting, and prioritisation, in tandem with language usage in the workplace to make you a better leader that can execute projects in magnificence. 

3. Social Media 101 - Buffer

Yes, this is a free course by Buffer! You will learn the basics of social media in just two minutes a day with Buffer’s week-long email class. You’ll master everything from establishing a tone for your social media posts to understanding online marketing analytics.

Social media is an ever-changing animal that is always on the move. You could learn all the know-hows, but when it comes to applying you need to take risks to establish a brand and Buffer has just the course for you to learn how to take the right risks so you don’t stumble. You could also learn how to manage your community once you establish it. 

The course covers how to choose a social network, how to customize your social media profile, establishing a voice and tone for your social media posts, the ideal time and frequency to post on social media, social media analytics, how to schedule, engage, and listen on social media. Best part is you also get a free social media marketing kit, super cool right?
 

The course is done over email and you learn social media in 2 minutes each day for 7 days. Simple, concise and just the right amount of help for you to get started on your Social Media Manager career.

4. How to Start a Startup - Stanford University

This course was given at Stanford in Fall 2014, but made its way to an online platform not too long after. This lecture designed by Y Combinator’s president Sam Altman features exceptional entrepreneurs like PayPal’s Peter Thiel, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky. 

You will learn how to ideate and how to expand your ideas into a working and powerful mission to get your startup going. The 20-hour lesson will also include lectures from various successful startup owners on how to fundraise and manage your startup. 

In the lectures, you will learn how to keep the energy going, keep the momentum of your initial idea alive, not get distracted and establish yourself not only as a startup owner, but an entrepreneur in every sense of the word, as well as the monetary aspect of starting and maintaining a start up with the struggles that will ensue.

If you have plans on starting a startup yourself, check the course out. There is much to learn, young Padawan.