Southeast Asia's economies will suffer if a growing shortage of managers and skilled professionals is not addressed, the International Labour Organisation warned Tuesday.
The shortages were no longer limited to multinational companies but were affecting an increasing number of local firms wanting to expand globally, the ILO said in the report entitled "Labour and Social Trends in Asean in 2008."
"If these skills shortages are not addressed, they will constrain enterprise competitiveness and Asean's future development," it said, citing a lack of managers and skilled staff in the information technology and finance sectors.
Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose membership ranges from wealthier states like Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to poor countries like Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
The other Asean members are the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.