“Research shows that 40% of working hours might be displaced by Generative AI. However, this doesn’t mean people will lose their jobs to AI, but rather, those skilled in AI will take over the roles of those who cannot leverage it,” said Ms. Sarinra Wongsuppaluk, Chief Human Resources Officer, True Corporation Plc., during her talk on “The Future of Talent” at the seminar “Unlock the Future; Turn on the Survival Mode.”
According to the World Economic Forum, 43% share of tasks completed by machines versus humans by 2027, leaving just 57% for human workers. This projection highlights a significant trend in the job market. AI is reshaping the future of talents and revolutionizing work paradigms, leading to the declining of clerical jobs, that easiest to automate such as bank tellers, secretaries, data entry clerks, and accounting.
“The advancement of AI affects to both the declining jobs and the growing jobs in the near future,” Ms. Sarinra said. The World Economic Forum says AI will also power job creation including AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Sustainability Specialists, Business Intelligence Analysts, Digital Transformation Specialists, and Simplicity Experts—a futuristic role focusing on streamlining processes to help organizations adapt more rapidly to AI integration. Additionally, Generative AI can augment whole new categories of professions such as Insurance Underwriters, Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers, Statisticians, and Graphic Designers.
Talent War: The challenge for organizations in the digital age
Ms. Sarinra highlighted the onset of the Talent War, aligning with the World Economic Forum’s report that predicts 44% of workers skills expected to be disrupted in the next five years. Additionally, 60% of workers will need to be retrained by 2027. As AI has rapidly driven transformation, this creates a gap in Thailand’s high-skill workforce, especially AI experts, necessitating that organizations proactively build their own AI talents to tackle these challenges and ensure seamless business transformation.
Job Reinvention is a strategic approach to build future talents within organizations. This process helps businesses identify pathways to develop new skill sets and foster talent capable of driving organizational transformation. The process involves four key steps, starting with “Deconstruct Jobs” by breaking down existing jobs into components to analyze their tasks, then “Reevaluate” and assess each task to determine which can remain unchanged, which can be automated or handled by AI, and which require modification. After that, “Optimize and Reconstruct” by creating new roles that differ from the original ones to align with emerging needs. Finally, “Reskill” and broaden employees’ capacities to match the demands of these newly constructed roles.
“We have to project our business direction in the next 3-5 years, expecting what the business will be. This insight will guide us in determining how to select the right people and how to develop our workforce’s skill sets.” said Ms. Sarinra.
Unveiling the model to next-generation talent of True Corporation, a leading tech company
True Corporation is continuing its strategy to build AI skills within the organization through three action areas. Ms. Sarinra shares how these initiatives aim to prepare employees to thrive and keep up with the advancements in AI technology.
- Digital Citizens program has been designed to strengthen the workforce’s digital skills. By 2024, True Corporation aims to have 4,000 digital citizens and expects to expand this number to 6,000 in 2025. Employees participating in the program will undergo training and assessments covering six digital foundation modules, including Data Analytics, Customer Centric, Digital Marketing, Simplification, Automation and Innovation Development.
- AI Champions, building upon the Digital Citizen program by True Digital Academy. The AI Champion initiative follows a structured four-step process: 1) Identify – access gap to create roadmap for transformation. 2) Inspire – create awareness and alignment for change. 3) Integrate – build skills to adopt AI by function. 4) Innovate – create and drive AI use cases and projects. In 2025, True Corporation aims to uplift AI skills for all employees; 60% trained in AI, 30% equipped intermediate AI knowledge and 10% possessing advanced AI expertise.
- Transformative Leaders as people are the change agents within the organization. True Corporation recognizes the Human Being along with technological advancements. The key characteristics include strategic mindset, action oriented and result driven, customer focus, collaborative and effective teams building.
“True Corporation also cultivates Venture Mindset among its executives, defining the organization’s strategic direction. The project has embedded the company’s corporate culture into their leadership approach. Additionally, the company embraces Reverse Mentoring, creating opportunities for next generation talents to learn and practice with True Corporation’s C-level executives covering innovation, business operations, as well as sharing ideas and exchanging perspectives,” Ms. Sarinra said.
Shaping Future Leaders
True Corporation is committed to grooming future leaders by attracting and developing young talent through programs like True Next Gen and True Alpha. These initiatives provide hands-on experiences and real-world responsibilities to prepare the next generation talents for leadership roles.
The True Next Gen program is designed to elevate career pathways for young professionals, equipping them with the skills and mindset needed to become the leaders of tomorrow. Key qualifications sought in candidates include 1) Resilience and Persistence, 2) Cognitive abilities covering abstract reasoning, logical reasoning and numerical reasoning. 3) Digital literacy. Therefore, True Next Gen is divided into two tracks: Tech Talent and Business Talent. The screening process includes a Hackathon and interviews with C-level executives. The True Next Gen program offers jobs rotation through various business units every 6 months for a total of 18 months and reverse mentoring with C-level executives. Upon completing the program, participants receive a certificate of recognition, affirming their readiness to take on future leadership roles.
True Corporation also initiates another generation of True Next Gen project, called True Alpha. This program is opened for university students in third or fourth year to join a 2-month internship during semester breaks. The program focuses on projects related to digital transformation and AI. Students who have completed the True Alpha program will receive a certificate, and are eligible to apply for True Next Gen, creating a seamless pathway for long-term career development within True Corporation.
Integrating 4C value to strengthen talents’ capabilities
“To successfully transform into an AI-First Organization, we must prioritize understanding our people—their skills and how they align with the organization’s direction. Only then can we attract the right talent and integrate AI across the organization while ensuring everyone grows together,” said Ms. Sarinra, emphasizing the importance of putting people first.
However, building a strong organizational culture is key to navigating change and achieving sustainable growth. True Corporation anchors this effort in its 4C Values: Compassion, Credibility, Co-creation, and Courage. True Corporation builds a future of talents and aims at people excellence. We believe that “everyone has talent. The company must enable and unlock their abilities and potential by strengthening their skills and continually building upon them, then the organization will be filled with exceptional talents”. Ms. Sarinra concluded.