The APO Vision 2025 highlights the importance of smart formation and its implications for productivity in services. Many efforts for digital transformation are being made in the manufacturing sector to gain easily observable outputs through digital technologies. Services also provide opportunities for digital upgrading and have direct impacts on daily life, expediting overall digital transformation in society. Strengthening the capabilities of service-sector professionals for digital upgrading, especially the ability to leverage the power of data, will assist APO members in transforming their businesses and building digital resilience.

To strengthen the capabilities of service-sector professionals in using data for management, decision-making, and innovation, the Japan Productivity Center and APO Secretariat co-hosted an online training course on Data Analytic Skills for Service-sector Employees, 23–26 April. It aimed to strengthen the foundation for digital transformation through disseminating knowledge on data analytics to help enhance the productivity of service professionals.

Thirty-four participants from 11 APO members completed the training course, led by four resource persons from Japan, the Netherlands, and Singapore. Participants were familiarized with the latest trends and technologies in data analytics and their innovative applications in the service sector. They also learned fundamental elements of data analytics through exercises, use cases, and basic data applications. The participants recognized the importance of data and were ready to apply the learning to their daily work and strategy-making to enhance productivity and customer satisfaction.