Digital technologies have been revolutionizing business operations and business models while creating new challenges and opportunities for the workforce and employers. As the service sector absorbs the majority of the workforce and the Asia-Pacific community transitions toward service-oriented economies, understanding the challenges faced by this sector as well as the requirements and needs of its workforce is indispensable for sustainable socioeconomic development at the macro level and productivity enhancement at the micro level.

To discuss strategies for enhancing the service-sector workforce and impart knowledge of service innovation aimed at sustained productivity in this sector, the APO Secretariat collaborated with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, Fiji, to conduct an online training course on Reskilling of the Workforce in the Service Sector from 4–7 February 2025. Thirty-two participants from ten APO members completed the course, led by three resource persons, one each from the ROC, Fiji, and Singapore.

Participants were familiarized with trends in the service sector and how technologies influence customers and the workforce of this sector. They also discussed reskilling and upskilling strategies and practices in different economies as well as implications for the workforce. In addition, exercises on service innovation and design thinking provided the participants with experience identifying opportunities to create new value for the service sector.