By Ramesh Subbaraman
There will be a bumper crop of 30,000 jobs to be filled in the Infocomm sector in Singapore by 2020.
As demand outstrips the current supply, Minister for Communications and Information (MCI) Dr Yaacob Ibrahim outlined several steps that will be taken to help build a Singaporean core in the sector.
Speaking in Parliament during his Ministry’s Committee of Supply Debate on 11 April, he said: “We must do our best to support our Singaporeans to be highly skilled so that they can compete with global talent.”
Here’s a quick look at what MCI plans to do.
Industry Preparation for Pre-Graduates: MCI will focus on some 6,000 students from each cohort, who are already in infocomm disciplines.
It will launch an Industry Preparation for Pre-Graduates (iPREP) Programme.The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) will work with institutes of higher learning to select students and place them on the programme.
Accelerate Professional Development: MCI will expand the company-led training programmes to help more than 1000 Info and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals each year, compared to 160 today.
Mid-level professionals will now also benefit from local and overseas training and attachments to build expertise and competencies for jobs in demand, especially in emerging areas like cyber security and analytics.
TechSkills Accelerator: MCI will work closely with the industry to grow the recently announced TechSkills Accelerator into a flagship platform where all Singapore ICT professionals can receive training and career advice.
Several anchor employers, including the new Government Technology Agency, Singtel, Mediacorp, ST Electronics, Integrated Health Information Systems, DBS and UOB have already committed to be part of the TechSkills Accelerator.
SkillsFuture Awards: To encourage early to mid-career Singaporeans to take ownership of their own skills upgrading, MCI will give out more than 300 SkillsFuture Study Awards next year.
This is to support Singaporeans’ aspirations in the infocomm media and design sectors.
Recipients will receive a monetary award of S$5,000 which can be used to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with the course they take.
NTUC’s Response
Replying to queries from NTUC This Week, NTUC Director (Progressive Wage Model and SkillsFuture) Mr Desmond Choo said there were two key features of MCI's plans that stood out for him.
First, there will be an increased focus on having companies to drive hiring based on industry-relevant skills rather than academic qualifications under the TechSkills Accelerator framework.
“Having the bigger companies as anchor employers will give our workers confidence that their training will be worthwhile. It is also notable that SingTel, MediaCorp and DBS are unionised companies.
“Second, the company-led training is a good half-step into providing apprenticeship. It ensures that our future young workers will come into the workforce ready to contribute. We have been campaigning for such initiatives for a while and I am glad that there has been positive developments,” he said.
Source: NTUC This Week
