KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): Demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses among women learners in Malaysia is on the rise.

In a commentary, American open online course provider Coursera's Asia-Pacific managing director Raghav Gupta said STEM course enrolments among women learners in Malaysia increased from 29% in 2019 to a significant 36% in 2021, citing the firm’s Women and Skills Report 2021.

He added that with STEM courses accounting for many foundational digital skills, Malaysian women aren’t the only ones improving their "employability" for the jobs of the future by developing these critical skills online.

Gupta said this trend is unfolding across the globe as more women reskill for better job opportunities in the tech-driven knowledge economy.

He added that by knocking down location and time barriers, online learning provides all-important flexibility for women balancing careers with personal commitments by fitting learning into their lives.

Modular content also amplifies the convenience for such learners to learn in chunks at their own pace, he said.

On the 2022 outlook for Malaysia, Gupta added that until now, the "location" had been central to choices and opportunities in the labour market, drawing high-skilled workers to industry clusters and concentrating top talent in a few thriving hubs.

"That is fast-changing. The shift we experienced during the [Covid-19] pandemic decisively challenged the notion that jobs need to be location-bound.

"With the rise of remote work and unfettered movement of talent — for the first time — anyone can work from anywhere in the world," he said.

According to Gupta, online learning is key as many Malaysian campuses had rapidly adapted by integrating plug and play online courseware from leading global institutions into their curriculum.

He said as campuses needed to ramp up in no time, they leveraged high-quality courses that matched their curriculum.

“But beyond ensuring learning continuity, this has become a way for colleges to provide students with consistently upgraded, up-to-date education.

“Integrating hybrid models would allow universities to continuously refresh offerings, keeping pace with technology shifts and building industry-relevant skills to improve students’ employability,” he added.

He said online programmes had evolved to be more inclusive to support needs of non-traditional learners.

“One of the outcomes of this evolution, [namely] micro-credentials, is now helping unemployed workers land on their feet.

“In Malaysia, enrolments for job-relevant entry-level professional certification spiked by 75% last year on Coursera, given the demand and value among jobseekers,” he added.