The infocomm industry continues to be a major employer in Singapore. According to the
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s (IDA) Annual Survey of Infocomm Manpower
, employed infocomm manpower stood at 141,300 in 2010 while the number of infocomm job vacancies grew almost six times over the same period to reach 16,100.
To meet this demand and to enhance the capabilities of the Singapore infocomm manpower pool, IDA announced the Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap v2.0 (MDEV 2.0) in March 2011. MDEV 2.0 is a four-year plan that aims to achieve three outcomes: to develop talent with deep infocomm skills and the ability to exploit infocomm for sectoral transformation; to ensure that Singapore has a good pipeline of infocomm talent and to ensure that Singapore’s manpower profile is more closely aligned with its role as a leading infocomm hub in Asia. In line with these objectives, about S$30 million will be invested by IDA and its partners in infocomm manpower development programmes over the subsequent two years.
"The Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap provides a good framework nationally for the benchmarking of IT skills using a ground-up developmental approach which reflects the practical demands of the profession and the aspirations of IT professionals. MDEV 2.0 is a step in the right direction towards professionalising IT through the development of relevant skills and competencies in our infocomm professionals."
- Ms Chong Yoke Sin, Chief Executive Officer, Integrated Health Information Systems Pte Ltd, who was involved with the conceptualisation and development of the Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap
"As a regional hub for several key industries, Singapore requires a pool of differentiated, high value T-shaped skilled infocomm professionals to innovate and transform businesses. Moreover, whether the economy is facing a downturn or upturn, high value skilled infocomm professionals are always sought after. The focus areas in the Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap v2.0 are very relevant to the development of high value infocomm skills in Singapore. The National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF), which is part of Singapore's Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap, is also one of the most important and comprehensive frameworks in the world for identifying high value infocomm competencies and job roles."
- Mr Foong Sew Bun, Past Chairman of NICF Steering Committee and Chief Technology Officer for IBM ASEAN, Singapore and ASEAN Software Group
Engaging youths
As part of the effort to promote computing amongst pre-tertiary students, events such as the annual National infocomm Competition (NIC) and Youth Infocomm Day (YID) are organised to stoke their interest to be part of the thriving infocomm sector.
For the 2010 National Infocomm Competition, more than 3,000 students from secondary schools, junior colleges, the Institute of Technical Education and polytechnics entered the fray, competing in 15 challenges. Among them was the code::XtremeApps challenge in which competitors were given 24 hours to develop programs in line with the “Go Green” theme.
Youth Infocomm Day, which was celebrated on 11 November 2011, featured the appointment of 20 Youth Infocomm Ambassadors and the launch of a nationwide “Can’t Live Without Tech!” contest in which participants are invited to submit a one-minute video showcasing the importance of technology in their lives.
"As a Youth Infocomm Ambassador, my role is to help spread the message of cyber wellness to the community, be it by holding talks or encouraging my peers or parents to participate in activities related to infocomm. In short, as a Youth Infocomm Ambassador, I aim to be the bridge that links the world of infocomm to the community."
- Mr Steve Pan, newly-appointed Youth Infocomm Ambassador from Yishun Town Secondary School, and President of the school's Infocomm Club
National Infocomm Club Awards were also presented during the event. Infocomm Clubs, a co-curricular activity (CCA) in schools, are another key initiative aimed at promoting infocomm among students. In 2011, the number of Infocomm Clubs in schools stood at 280 – up from 251 in 2009. The number of club members has also increased by 43 per cent from 2008's enrolment to 15,000 members today.
"We make things happen. We organise events for students from primary and secondary schools, and we provide a channel of communications between the Infocomm Clubs and IDA. For example, we recently organised Investigate IT, which was a training session and competition combined. About 100 people attended. Through such events, we hope to train students, especially those in Infocomm Clubs, and equip them with better skills and test them in the skills that they have learnt."
- Ng Pei Qin of Crescent Girls' School, on her role as Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Youth Infocomm Ambassador Executive Committee
Building the talent pipeline
IDA is working closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to promote computing amongst pre-tertiary students. A revised ‘A’ level Computing syllabus will be introduced to JC1 students from 2012 to focus on computational thinking.
Meanwhile, a bumper crop of 79 students received scholarships to study infocomm-related diploma and degree courses on 30 July 2011, in the first combined awards presentation for the National Infocomm Scholarship (NIS) and Integrated Infocomm Scholarship (IIS).
In 2011, 48 students were presented with the IIS, which allows outstanding ‘O’ level students to pursue infocomm-related diploma courses at the five local polytechnics, followed by infocomm-related degree courses at local universities.
"Infocomm is a field that is constantly changing and innovating, and the challenge is to stay at the cutting edge of technology. The IIS through-train programme provided me with a unique opportunity for practical hands-on training at the diploma level, followed by a stronger theoretical balance at degree level. I also attended conferences which gave me insights into infocomm trends while allowing me to build up my professional network."
- Mr Chi Kok Pin, who was among IDA's pioneer batch of Integrated Infocomm Scholarship recipients in 2009. He is currently studying at the Singapore Polytechnic (Diploma in Information Technology)
Another 31 were presented with the NIS to pursue degrees at local and overseas universities. They will also benefit from mentorship schemes and overseas work attachments.
"I personally like infocomm because it has the ability and potential to change and improve our lives. Already pretty much everything in life is dependent on technology, from the way we communicate to healthcare. The NIS programme, especially the fast-track programme, allowed me to spend two years at the Singapore Management University and then 2.5 years at Carnegie Mellon University where I had the opportunity to work with some of the best talents in the field, giving me a chance to learn from them."
- Mr Ng Jun Yang, who was awarded the National Infocomm Scholarship in 2007 and graduated in 2011. The fast-track programme allows students to graduate with both a Bachelor of Science (Information Systems Management) degree from Singapore Management University and a master's degree in IT from Carnegie Mellon University
The infocomm industry also continues to play a major role in Singapore’s talent development efforts. In 2011, for example, Microsoft set up a Cloud Innovation Centre at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) - the first such partnership for the MNC. The centre aims to equip close to 4,000 students with cloud computing expertise over the next few years.
Another infocomm MNC, IBM, also announced the launch of the Business Analytics Innovation Centre (BAIC) at NYP – the first on-campus IBM Software Centre of Excellence in the ASEAN region – to help students develop the business analytics know-how and enterprise skills to meet the growing demand from the industry for such capabilities.
Building capabilities
IDA is working with the Workforce Development Agency to enhance continuing education and training for infocomm professionals with courses in new and emerging areas such as cloud computing, green IT and digital forensics.
IDA’s Expanded Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP) aims to provide course and examination fee support for training courses and certifications to 8,000 professionals in critical and emerging infocomm skills over the next two years. In addition, a new “Hybrid Skills Development Programme” will be implemented to provide professionals with skills and expertise to bring sector domain knowledge to bear when developing infocomm solutions.