By Lavania Subramaniam
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) held a 7-day digital freelancing programme at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) from November 27 to December 3. The programme included various workstreams with three main agendas: Workstream Training, Digital Freelance Training, and Accelerator Bootcamp.
During the briefing on the first day, Mohamad Syahir Edzha, senior executive of the Digital Freelance Programme (MDEC), said that the corporation helps to provide early exposure to young adults about digital freelance, the advantages, and a glimpse of the gig economy.
“It also helps Malaysian talent in generating income through digitalisation while promoting skill-based services such as design, editing, web management, and other expertise to capture the international market,” he added.
Moreover, with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 4.0, MDEC encourages young graduates to actively participate in this programme to enhance their talents and skills and, most importantly, to create solid virtual networks worldwide.
Muhammad Haziq Badrul Hissham, a former MDEC trainee to the Programme Manager of the organisation, outlined the issues he identified among today’s youth. One of the challenges is the participants’ competence, especially the failure of Malaysian students to recognise independent fields and entrepreneurship.
“The understanding of the youth in freelancing is shallower, and they have failed to adapt themselves according to the digital work pattern. One should reveal his or her barriers to improvement.”
In addition, exposure to the freelance digital marketplace allows the youth to learn visual and business communication.
“Even though there are many qualified talents, traditional ways of entrepreneurship and reluctance to use new media (freelancing) have cause those virtuosities to fade. Nevertheless, students can overcome these challenges by choosing the correct platforms and receiving proper exposure or supervision when joining MDEC training and boot camps.”
Additionally, MDEC prepared five major sustainable workstreams blooming in the global market. As said by Batholullah, a creative media professional, the creative media industry is bombastically high due to its demand; even international companies hire freelancers with ingenious skills and fulfil the client’s requirements. Working in creative media allows you to explore the latest technologies, like the AI advancements implemented in designers’ software.
“There are a million things to explore to be a millionaire. Unlike in the early 20s, designs used to be crafted manually using resources from various references; nowadays, it’s easy to inspect inspirations and create, as many firms and organisations are interested in digital visual conceptualisation.”
This innovation also nurtures freelancers to carve a path in designing logos for small-medium business (SME), developing their brands for products or services.
Some WOW facts about social media management are maintaining social media profiles for firms, agencies, or clients. It includes ingenuity like creating content for social media pages, design production, advertising, and live streaming. In the lists of future job expectancies, live streaming incorporates three main branches: promoting products and services, giving awareness, influencing and entertainment.
“Take China, for instance, applying live streaming techniques to promote products or expand their brand. Their salespersons and freelancers act as ambassadors or symbols for the brand while being endorsed in the market. This method is profitable and has advantages such as flexible time management, improved communication, and marketing skills,” said Youmeden, a digital marketing professional.
He, too, conveys that the younger generation is not interested in learning and has caused a knowledge gap between students pursuing their studies in higher institutions and students who have only graduated from high school. There is a downward trend in STEM-based careers, and many are interested in becoming influencers. Young people should receive proper education and knowledge before starting a career in social media to distinguish between positive and negative content.
“Writing is a form of communication and technology itself. It’s applicable worldwide, regardless of languages, cultures, people, and beyond.”
This workstream delivers a wide range of modern writings, emphasising translation, subtitling, transcription, copywriting, and content writing. Writers who aspire to establish themselves as freelancers could endeavour to do copywriting, as the opportunity is not limited within our nation.
Wan Nurul Atiqah, a trainer at MDEC, shared that consistency, discipline, and preparing a goal beforehand are the ways to tackle challenges, particularly amid economic changes.
A new family member, a virtual assistant (VA), is a self-employed or contracted professional who works remotely to help clients with administrative, technical, or creative needs.
“VAs can assist with many tasks, such as managing emails, booking travel, setting up appointments, and offering social media support. They can also assist with more specialised work like data analysis, data entry and bookkeeping. Furthermore, they usually operate from home offices and connect with their clients via phone, email, and video conferencing. For companies and individuals who require assistance with administrative duties, freelancers are an invaluable resource,” said Fikri Radhi Muhamad Fuad, a workstream trainer administrative.
Besides venturing into cyberspace, web development and information technology (IT) play a significant role in developing websites, maintaining networks, and providing IT security services to customers.
Web development and IT trainer Tillandran added that skills and performance are fundamental, and individuals should upskill their potential to serve better outcomes.
“This will attract more clients and generate revenue, especially for those trying to break through the job market and possess eminent working ability.”
As per his observation, to infiltrate the global marketplace, maximising websites to display the structure of the services, goods, or products and using them for official announcements — more likely the US nation — could increase the expertise in the business.
The last day of the event, with associations from government agencies such as Human Resource Development (HRD) Corp, Employees Provident Fund (EPF), and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO), and the presence of PM Ts Dr Siti Kudnie as deputy director of the UNIMAS Entrepreneurship Centre (UEC), made the closing day ceremony on December 3 more lively. Various knowledge about generating income, government initiatives, and their advantages were discussed.
Also, certificates and souvenirs were presented to the participants, and a photo session was held at the end of the programme. The reception and input received by MDEC and UNIMAS students were splendid. It embarked on the journey of fresh freelancers. It gave me incredible insight into freelancing as a permanent job to generate earnings, hoping to foster youngsters’ interest in e-business and digital literacy in line with prospective trends.
• This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Education, Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
