A study conducted by Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB), together with NTUC and the IT Management Association (ITMA), has identified five in-demand jobs and five emerging tech skills within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
Called the “Jobs and Skills for ICT professionals”, the study highlighted several employment opportunities in the ICT landscape over the next three years, with the top five jobs in demand being IT consultants, cloud engineers, data analysts, solution architects and cybersecurity engineers.
Additionally, the study identified data analysis, artificial intelligence application, cloud computing, data management and cybersecurity as the top five emerging tech skills within the sector.
Supported by Singapore Computer Society and SGTech, the study also proposed developmental and training programmes to help ICT professionals reskill, upskill and adapt to changing skill demands.
It also considered how COVID-19 has impacted the ICT sector and recommended ICT professionals to constantly upgrade and upskill themselves to remain relevant.
On the results of the study, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay said: “I’m happy that TTAB undertook this important work with NTUC’s Strategy Team. The results help shape and strengthen the development of training programmes for ICT Professionals so that they can reskill, upskill and adapt to changing skill demands.
“More importantly, it helps identify areas that can equip displaced mid-career ICT professionals with relevant skills to find new jobs.”
Mr Tay hopes that employers and ICT professionals will proactively tap on the various government funding and support for training and reskilling.
In a recent engagement session with NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, TTAB will also look at ways to work closely with NTUC, tapping on NTUC’s network to reach out to more ICT professionals and to help them identify upskilling opportunities for better jobs.
Since April 2019, the research team reviewed relevant studies; carried out surveys with organisations; and conducted several focus group discussions with over 50 Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) and Chief Information officers (CIOs).
The results of the study could be used as a guide for ICT professionals in deciding which areas to upskill and the relevant training needed.
Additionally, it can also help employers decide on what kind of training their employees require, considering future trends.
CTOs and CIOs acknowledged that while technical skills are essential, they were also looking for soft skills in their potential hires.
Skills such as good communication capabilities and the ability to translate businesses demands into IT projects to give companies a competitive edge.
Both agreed that mature PMEs could use their wealth of experience to advise companies on complex decision making and judgement processes to decide on the best tech application to help them achieve business goals.
Instead of competing with young PMEs on deep skills, mature PMEs can stand out by taking advantage of the business skills and expertise that they have honed over the years.
Hence, TTAB encourages mature PMEs to go for training in their adaptive/soft skills such as problem-solving, design thinking, business knowledge, communication and leadership.
