Demand for Multimedia/Internet Developers projected to grow by 25% each year

According to the National Computer Board's (NCB) 1998 Snapshot Survey completed two months ago, the industry demand for multimedia/internet developers is projected to grow by 25% per year. This was followed ...

Singapore, 22 January 2002 | For Immediate Release

Nanyang Polytechnic Launches New Full-Time E-Commerce Diploma at IT Day '98 to Address Industry Demand.

According to the National Computer Board's (NCB) 1998 Snapshot Survey completed two months ago, the industry demand for multimedia/internet developers is projected to grow by 25% per year. This was followed by a projected 15% demand for data communications/networking professionals as well as R&D professionals. The survey findings also forecasted IT manpower to grow at a compound rate of 8% per year over the next two years.

The above survey results were singled out by Mr Michael Yap, Deputy Chief Executive of the NCB, who was the Guest-of-Honour at the Information Technology (IT) Day '98 held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic today.

More than 1,000 students from 30 secondary schools and ITE attended IT Day '98. Jointly organised by the NCB and the four polytechnics, (Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic), IT Day is an annual event that introduces IT both as a course and a career to students. The audience of the IT Day are students who will be moving on to the next phase of their education in the respective institutes of higher learning, as well as students who will be making a career decision.

Official launch of Diploma in Business Informatics

Mr Yap also officially launched the Diploma in Business Informatics at the event, which is the first full-fledge diploma on electronic commerce (e-commerce) ever in Singapore. Combining IT and business skills with a strong focus on e-commerce, the diploma is a response to the current development and needs of the IT industry, particularly its demand for multimedia/internet developers, as e-commerce is fast becoming the new mode of doing business in the new millennium.

The Diploma in Business Informatics is a new 3-year full-time course introduced by Nanyang Polytechnic to equip graduates with a firm foundation in IT and business skills, as well as e-commerce application development and management.

Besides Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic have also launched e-commerce courses on 1 Dec 98 as a major option in their existing diplomas, to prepare their students better for e-commerce related jobs in the industry. Temasek Polytechnic is currently offering a Diploma in Internet Computing, which has an e-commerce module.

"The singular most important factor in positioning Singapore as the e-commerce hub is talents. It is thus very encouraging to see our Institutes of Higher Learning incorporating e-commerce in their respective curriculum. It shows the strong commitment by the academia to train the relevant manpower needed to manage and develop e-commerce applications in IT and business," said Mr Yap.

In line with the government's effort to position Singapore as an international e-commerce hub, the E-Commerce Masterplan was recently launched by Deputy Prime Minister BG(NS) Lee Hsien Loong with the aim to generate $4 billion worth of products and services transacted electronically through Singapore, and 50% of businesses to use some form of e-commerce by the year 2003.

In addition, with Singapore ONE, the multimedia broadband network infrastructure continuing to play a key role in delivering advanced IT applications and services to every sector of our society, will further create demand for IT manpower who are e-commerce enabled.

IT Career and Promotional Guide

Themed "Dare to Dream", the new IT Career and Promotional Guide was launched at IT Day'98. The Guide was last produced in 1992. As IT has been evolving rapidly, many new careers have come about. These careers demand the combination of multiple disciplines, such as media, business and technology. The Guide introduced these new careers for the first time.

Adopting a bold and refreshing approach, the new Guide unfolds the nature of 10 categories of IT jobs through candid interview features with 17 IT professionals - highlighting their job scope, challenges at work, rewards and future goals.

Besides providing a comprehensive and updated reference for job specifications that can be applied across the industry, as well as serve as a guide for those intending to pursue a career in IT, the new Guide also introduces new IT jobs that have emerged as a result of rapid changes and new developments in the IT industry (eg, in multimedia/internet development).

About the Snapshot Survey 13. The NCB conducted the Snapshot Survey from August to September 1998 to ascertain the impact of the economic crisis on the demand for IT manpower. 200 organisations from the IT vendors/suppliers, IT users and the government sectors responded to the survey. 60% of the respondents come from the IT vendors/suppliers sector, followed by 20% each from both the IT users and the government sectors.