Official website links end with .gov.sg
Singapore's Infocomm workers need to enhance their value to keep up with competition and stay relevant. That was the key message from Mrs Tan Ching Yee, CEO of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore(IDA), who was speaking at the IT Managers Association's 9th Best Practices Seminar this morning...
Singapore, 14 November 2003 | For Immediate Release
IDA Offers New Training Funds, Targeted Training Programmes & Information on Job Opportunities
Singapore's Infocomm workers need to enhance their value to keep up with competition and stay relevant. That was the key message from Mrs Tan Ching Yee, CEO of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore(IDA), who was speaking at the IT Managers Association's 9th Best Practices Seminar this morning. To help Infocomm workers do that, the IDA will be injecting additional funds worth S$13.5m for specialized Infocomm skills training, introducing new courses to enhance domain knowledge of Infocomm professionals working in end-user industries, and starting a job listing initiative to highlight vacancies available in the Infocomm industry.
Introduced in 1996, CITREP1 or the Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme has helped over 15,000 Infocomm professionals upgrade their technical skills in essential areas such as project management and networking as well as emerging areas like web services and wireless technology. IDA will be injecting another S$13.5 million into CITREP to train another 5,000 Infocomm professionals until March 2005. Moving ahead, the objective is to groom more Infocomm workers to take on more senior and challenging jobs like Infocomm Specialists and Architects that will deliver higher value and allow them to command a premium for their professional services. The new round of funding will also be used to fund domain skills training for Infocomm professionals working in key industry sectors.
Out of the 104,000 Infocomm manpower in Singapore today, half work in the Infocomm industry while the other half work in user industries such as finance and banking, logistics, wholesale and retail and manufacturing. These Infocomm professionals need to have in-depth domain knowledge of business processes and issues specific to their industries, so that they can recommend or develop effective IT solutions for their organisations. To address this growing need, the IDA is working with various academic institutions and professional organisations to develop new courses that will deepen Infocomm professionals' domain knowledge in five industries, including finance and banking, logistics, business services, wholesale and retail, and manufacturing. Two such courses dealing in logistics e-supply chain management will be offered by the Nanyang Polytechnic and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Singapore. These courses will equip Infocomm professionals working in logistics, manufacturing, wholesale and retail with the necessary domain expertise to complement their technical skills. That way they can better leverage Infocomm technology to implement e-supply chain management systems to increase the efficiency of their operations. (Refer to Annex for course details).
Apart from the courses for the logistics sector, IDA is also working with the Singapore Management University to develop a course for Infocomm professionals working in the finance and banking industry. The training programme will equip them with knowledge about different types of banking products and the operational environment. (Refer to Annex for course details).
To highlight job opportunities in the Infocomm industry, IDA has embarked on a job listings initiative which aims to accelerate the job search process. This will save job seekers time and effort of having to comb through multiple sources of job listings to identify potential opportunities. Apart from convenience to job seekers, this initiative also provides additional visibility to participating organisations which get their vacancies listed at no charge. The first job listings spread will appear in The Straits Times Recruit section on 15 November and will feature some 750 Infocomm jobs. The same job listings will also be made available on https://www.imda.gov.sg/.
While it is important to develop the current pool of Infocomm manpower, it is also necessary to groom the next generation of Infocomm talent to sustain the needs of the industry. To this end, the IDA is inviting sponsorship from the industry for a new scholarship programme which aims to groom up to 10 promising students per year through overseas attachments with sponsoring organisations. Over the next five years, this programme will nurture a pool of 50 talented individuals who can contribute to the development of Singapore's Infocomm industry. IDA will be working with partners to finalise details of the programme over the next few months.
ISSUED BY CORPORATE COMMUNICATION DIVISION
INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
Notes to Editor:
1 The Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP) is an IDA training incentive programme to develop emerging, critical and specialised Infocomm skills sought after by the Infocomm industry and user organisations. Relevant training courses that impart knowledge and skills in the identified technologies will be evaluated and endorsed under CITREP. Self-sponsored participants and organisations that fully sponsor their employees for training in these endorsed courses can apply for funding support, which covers course fees and exam fees (if any). Web services and wireless technologies have been identified as emerging Infocomm skills and are supported under CITREP. For details, please click here.
Annex - Course Details
- Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Singapore (CILTS) Factsheet
- CILTS Certificate of Competence in IT in Logistics & Supply Chain Management
- NYP Specialist Diploma in Supply Chain Management
- SMU Executive Programme: Finance and Banking for Infocomm Professionals
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is a dynamic organisation with an integrated perspective to developing, promoting and regulating info-communications in Singapore. In the fast-changing and converging spheres of telecommunications, information and media technologies, IDA will be the catalyst for change and growth in Singapore's evolution into a vibrant global info-communications technology centre. For more information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/
For media clarification, please contact:
Ms Chia Sher Ling
Corporate Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6211 1840
Fax: +65 6211 2227
Email: chia_sher_ling@imda.gov.sg
