“We project a strong demand for more than 42,000 infocomm technology ICT professionals in Singapore over the next three years. Hence, we also want to ensure that Singaporeans are equipped with the relevant skills to benefit from these good jobs, said Minister for Communications and Information of Singapore Yaacob Ibrahim today during the launch of Skills Framework for ICT.
The Minister said, “In resource-scarce Singapore, talent is the key driver of growth. This similarly applies to the ICT sector. The government will do all we can to prepare individuals and businesses to harness the growth opportunities in the digital economy.”
The Skills Framework provides information on more than a hundred ICT job roles including data scientists and cyber risk analysts, relevant training programmes, as well as the key competencies and skills for ICT professionals. The framework has been jointly developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore after consulting more than 150 industry leaders.
Currently, there are 180,000 ICT professionals in Singapore, and about 18,000 vacancies in the industry. About half of the ICT professionals work in the ICT sector, while the remaining half is employed by other sectors. The ICT sector contributes about 8 per cent of Singapore’s GDP today.
The Skills Framework entails benefits to various segments of the ICT sector. Employers also get advantage from the framework in terms of attracting, retaining and developing talent. For example, they are able to better design human resource management and development plans using the detailed skills information provided in the framework.
The Minister said that the framework is not only relevant for the ICT sector but it can be used across other sectors, like retail, logistics and finance.
He said, “It was designed to focus on the types of skills and competencies required for different ICT job roles, and is not biased towards specific technology tools. This ensures that the skills framework is relevant to ICT professionals across different industries.”
During the launch of the programme, IMDA chief executive Tan Kiat How said, “Workers from other sectors can also leverage the skills framework to acquire the right infocomm skills needed to participate in an increasingly digitalised economy.”