Author’s Blurb: During the MCO, a lot of perceptions regarding jobs were changed. For example, deliverymen whom most of us never bat an eyelid at suddenly became essential workers overnight, keeping the economy moving. “Safe” jobs (like full-time, blue-collar ones) suddenly weren’t so safe anymore, with the threat of pay cuts and lay-offs looming as businesses suffered.
After every storm, there is a rainbow, as people like to say. In this case, not every job will emerge from this pandemic unscathed, but there will be some that a post-COVID-19 world will highly demand.
Within those jobs lie opportunities. Across the world, inquisitive minds have already begun exploring what kinds of jobs these would be, and it is likely that we’ll see this replicated in Malaysia.
From them, we’ve compiled this list (non-exhaustive, as I believe we’ll begin seeing more jobs fall into this category as time passes).
1. Greeters
Prior to the pandemic, we would have met greeters outside of restaurants and bars, but greeting wasn’t their only job—they were also waiters.
But now, companies (and not just ones in F&B) might be looking to hire greeters who will stand by entrances, screen employees and guests, and record their findings down.
This will come as new policies around health are developed in response to workers’ concerns about workplace health and safety.
2. Insurance Agents
After this pandemic, people are beginning to realise the importance of having life or health insurance.
The government was targeting a 75% penetration rate in 2020 despite the rate only being at 55% as last reported.
Due to COVID-19, this number may have increased since then due to demand for protection, so insurance agents will be needed to cater to these new customers.
3. Blockchain Developers
With this massive move to a digital world, cybersecurity becomes an even more important topic to discuss, and an issue to tackle.
Online transactions are on the rise, so more blockchain developers, for example, will be needed to advance systems that combat cybercrimes and financial fraud.
Following this trend, it’s safe to assume that other careers within the cybersecurity industry will be seeing a rise in demand.
4. Telehealth Nurses
Nurses and physician assistants were already in demand prior to COVID-19 to handle routine medical work and help doctors develop treatment and wellness regimens.
However, now that virtual healthcare, or as often referred to as telehealth, has become a more common practice in light of the current situation, these jobs will be even more in-demand.
It’ll be tough for medical staff in physical centres to focus on both in-person and virtual consultations, therefore, individuals who will be hired specifically for telehealth will be needed.
5. Warehouse Workers & Packers
E-commerce will always be around, even after the pandemic, so jobs within the supply chains that enable e-commerce will continue being high in demand.
To cater to the ever-increasing demand of e-commerce, we may see more warehouse workers and packers getting hired.
Warehouse workers take charge of shipping, receiving and inventory organisation while packers tackle the preparation of orders for shipment. Both are essential to keep a warehouse’s core operations running.
6. Manufacturing Machine Operators
When more factories re-open, we can expect massive hiring sprees in this area, where manpower is still the main driver of operations.
However, we’re also seeing the need to cut down our dependence on cheap foreign labour in Malaysia, especially after the residential buildings that they live in were reported to have several positive COVID-19 cases.
Automation will be one way to replace these jobs, so we may see an increase in demand for machinists trained in operating industrial robots.
7. Marketing Managers
One of the benefits of having a job in marketing is that you would typically have skills that are transferable between industries, making you quite the commodity.
This enables one to switch from an industry that might not be doing so well during and after the pandemic, to one that’s thriving.
As businesses resume operations, they’d also want experienced marketers to help with positioning themselves for a changed market (through context-appropriate and trendy messages, for example).
Taking a quick look at job portal JobStreet, in the past week or so, over 200 job openings for marketing positions were posted, spanning across FMCG, logistics, and even pharmaceutical companies.
8. Robotics Engineers
Now that we’ve seen how reliant we still are on people to get core tasks done and how badly COVID-19 impacted many businesses thanks to that, there will be a greater move towards implementing robotics for automation in various industries.
We will need talents to develop these machines, and with these jobs in robotics, careers related to AI development will also increase.
These robots won’t be engineered only for manufacturing either; we’re seeing the development of robots for purposes in other settings like medical institutions or for small neighbourhood deliveries.
9. Software Developers
Software developers have always been necessary, but now more companies are going digital to cushion the impact of the pandemic and drive business.
What this means for us is that the people who build and maintain the software that powers remote digital services will be high in demand.
The new norm of remote working will also spur the need for software developers who can build better tools that enable us to maintain productivity.
10. Online Teachers & Tutors
Online learning is now the trend and many institutions have made the necessary transitions from offline to online in a bid to keep up education.
Parents who may have shunned online learning in the past may be more open to its conveniences now, so even if children go back to schools, their tuition may take on the form of online tutoring.
Granted, we have a myriad of educational apps already, but online platforms that have actual student-teacher interaction present a smaller stepping stone for more hesitant parents.
11. Remote Personal Fitness Trainers & Instructors
With gyms being considered a non-essential business, a majority of us who enjoy working out have gotten used to exercising at home on our own or hired remote personal fitness trainers.
When gyms reopen, we may be hesitant to rush back in immediately, and instead stick to virtual personal training services that resemble face-to-face training in the gym.
Furthermore, we’ve learnt that we don’t actually need fancy gym equipment to adequately work out (unless you require them to build your body in a specific way), so there’s even less reason to rush back into gyms.
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There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding which careers will survive the pandemic and which ones won’t, so even though these jobs may be high in demand post-COVID-19, we can’t be sure of how long that demand will last either.
I believe eventually this demand will plateau after a while (and I’m no economist so I have no estimations to share), but more jobs will branch out of these ones as we constantly innovate our work.
Bottom Line: Job security can be a fickle thing that changes depending on situations, so perhaps simply trying to apply for these high in demand jobs isn’t the best way to launch yourself back into a career. I’d say invest in some time to look around and you might find a niche job that not many would be looking at, and find an opportunity there instead.
- You can read more about COVID-19 related articles here.
Featured Image Credit: DF Automation & Robotics / Ninja Van