Strong pipeline of local tech talent equipped with the skills to secure new opportunities in the Digital Economy.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Sea Limited (Sea) have a produced a program to hire and train 500 Singaporeans.
When implemented, will be one of the largest ever TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) Company-Led Training (CLT) programme by a Singapore-based company, and signals how the Singapore economy can recover strongly from COVID-19, through companies applying digitalisation to create job and training opportunities for Singaporeans.
This programme will also boost the trainees’ employment and employability outcomes as part of the broader SGUnited Jobs and Skills efforts. The signing of the memorandum of intent between the two organisations was witnessed by Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran.
Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said, the Government’s priority is to create good jobs for Singaporeans.
“We want to ensure that we have a strong pipeline of local tech talent equipped with the skills to secure new opportunities in the Digital Economy,” he said. “Partnerships with the industry players is key. For example, this collaboration with Sea Limited (Sea) is timely as it will help some 500 Singaporeans acquire the requisite skills to further their career in the ICT sector, which remains a bright spot in our economy.
It also signals the scale and ambition of our ongoing national effort to create jobs and training opportunities for all Singaporeans in our economic recovery from COVID-19. I urge more companies to come forward and join us in this concerted effort.”
The programme will benefit 500 Singaporeans, comprising 400 entry-level and 100 mid-career (i.e. with more than three years of working experience) jobseekers.
Trainees will undergo six months of on-the-job or instructor-led structured training at the Singapore-based global consumer internet company’s e-commerce arm, Shopee, in areas such as Product Management, Software Engineering and User Experience Design.
All trainees will get a mentor/project advisor within the same department, who will support their journey and to help them improve their knowledge and skills.
Through the course of training provided by Shopee, trainees will acquire foundational and specialist skills, occupational knowledge as well as get hands-on experience in project work.
Trainees who complete the programme will be equipped for success in the e-commerce and tech industry, ready to take on roles such as Data/Business Analysts, Product Managers, Software Engineers and UI/UX Designers. Trainees will receive a monthly salary while undergoing training, providing them the assurance of being employed in a paid job while attending training for in-demand tech skills and gaining job experience. All suitable trainees that complete the training will be employed by the business entities under Sea, which include Shopee Singapore and Garena Online.
IMDA was also working with Singapore’s Mobile Network Operators (“MNOs”) to hire and reskill 1,000 professionals to support Singapore’s 5G rollout.
Of these, 30 per cent are new roles, while the remaining are telecom professionals who will be upskilled in the areas of 5G network, cyber security and solution engineering to futureproof their jobs. The demand for 5G professionals is expected to grow as Singapore’s 5G rollout gathers momentum and more enterprises participate in the ecosystem.
Lew Chuen Hong, chief executive at IMDA said, talent development is the next critical phase of our investment in 5G.
“This effort extends Singapore’s momentum in 5G following our investment in building infrastructure capabilities,” he said. We have worked with the local MNOs to unlock the potential of 5G for these 1,000 professionals and will continue to do so to create good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans.”
Under the TechSkills Accelerator initiative, IMDA has set up 5G Workforce Transformation Committees (“WTCs”) with the MNOs to oversee the planning and development of their 5G workforce capabilities. In addition, IMDA will be appointing a consortium comprising National University of Singapore (“NUS”) and Singapore Polytechnic (“SP”) as the 5G and Telecoms Programme Manager (“PM”). They will be a strategic partner to aggregate hiring and training requirements from the WTCs and the wider 5G ecosystem players, to co-develop quality training to meet demand, and enable Singaporeans to take on 5G jobs. The plan is to work with the industry and equip a total of 5,000 professionals over the next 3 years to develop a strong, 5G skilled workforce.
