Page 43 - ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2019

ASEAN Business & Investment Summit 2019 43

growth and a tool in achieving sustainable development. Hence, digital connectivity must be given
importance.
Human capital empowerment is how to transform human resources into digital workforce as
a precondition to compete in digital era in the form of reskilling, upskilling, and multi-task skilling. It
has been clear that automation can replace human workforce, thereby leading to unemployment.
Human capital empowerment is essential in solving this issue. Meanwhile, the new talent and
education programs should also be encouraged in support for the future workforce. The issue
of “Human capital empowerment” has been raised up as ASEAN-BAC’s 2019 Legacy Project in
the name of “ASEAN Human Empowerment and Development (AHEAD)” and Thailand’s priority
economic deliverable in the title of “Guideline on Skilled Labor / Professional Services Development
in Response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)”. The ASEAN Leaders have also outlined the
importance of human empowerment as a major driver of ASEAN’s future success and as a key
strategy to achieving inclusive economic growth.
MSMEs are considered the backbone of ASEAN economies in terms of the number of
establishments and total employment. The MSMEs account for more than 96 percent of all
enterprises in ASEAN. In order to respond to the emergence of 4IR, MSMEs are encouraged to
increase awareness, preparedness, and embrace advanced technology for digital transformation.
The role of MSMEs must focus on stimulating economic growth through offering employment
opportunity, fostering innovation, and serving products and services that fulfil customers’ needs. At
the same time, these is also a need to enhance capability of MSMEs through ASEAN Mentorship for
Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN) to ensure they have adequate access to mentorship, money, and
market.
ASEAN-BAC’s initiatives on “Empowering ASEAN 4.0” will complement the public sector’s
efforts in putting priority on the digitization and digitalization in ASEAN countries. “Empowering
ASEAN 4.0” goes hand in hand with “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability” to create value-
added by engaging ASEAN with the world and realize an ASEAN community that prospers, leaves
no one behind, and looks to the future.