3 September 2007 - Speech By Ms Christina Gan, Senior Director, Infocomm Security & Manpower Development, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore At The Alice-In-Action Challenge (National Infocomm Competition), Temasek Polytechnic.
Speech By Ms Christina Gan, Senior Director, Infocomm Security & Manpower Development, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore As Guest-Of-Honour At The Alice-In-Action Challenge (National Infocomm Competition) on 3 September 2007, Temasek Polytechnic.
Ms Lim Sok Keow, Director, Temasek Info Tech School,
Contestants, supporters,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good Morning.
Introduction
1. First, let me extend my appreciation to Temasek Poly, particularly Sok Keow and her team, for organising the Alice-In-Action Challenge and for supporting it under the National Infocomm Competition (or NIC for short). The NIC, in its second year, is Singapore's largest infocomm competition that inspires and stretches the creative thinking skills and infocomm knowledge of youth and students through a variety of hands-on challenges. Having Alice-In-Action within the NIC certainly raises the bar and you should all be proud that you are part of this.
Competition Marks A Head Start In Career Building
2. A competition is not just about winning. It is also a display of passion, creativity and wits. These are the very fundamental traits that will give you or talents, a head start to become a successful infocomm professional in the future. Out of all the NIC challenges I attended so far (this being the third), the remarkable stream of inspiration and creativity that came from the participants' works has never failed to impress me.
3. For today's challenge, I understand that you have designed and created an e-learning application to tell a short story. I would like to commend you on your efforts because the judges, as what Sok Keow had mentioned earlier, had a tough time selecting the best among the many fantastic entries. So I am definitely looking forward to view your projects later on. In fact, your works have further assured me that Singapore is full of talents in driving the future infocomm industry in this ever dynamic global economy.
Realising An Infocomm Career
4. Some of you may feel that it is still too early to think about planning a career at your young age. But let me tell you, it is never too early to plan and know the exciting prospects that an infocomm career has in store for you.
5. In our recent PM's National Day rally speech, he expressed confidence that Singapore will do well in this digital age. Infocomm has opened up new opportunities, created new jobs and helped to transform nearly all sectors of the economy. Last year, our infocomm manpower pool has grown by 7.5 per cent to almost 120,000. Organisations in the key sectors are demanding more infocomm professionals than ever. Jobs such as software designer, solutions architect and project manager are in high demand.
6. I was told that the salary packages are pretty attractive too. According to the recent Infocomm Career Guide, a software developer fetches a monthly average salary of S$3,000, while that of a Project Manager is around S$6,000. So look out for this guide in your goody bag.
7. Such growth prospects are expected to continue year on year. IDA has been working closely with the industry to develop the required talent pool to support this growth in Singapore. As you might have heard, the IDA's Intelligent Nation or iN2015 masterplan intends to create 80,000 jobs by 2015. I think some of you would probably be graduating around that period, right? Well, with the right qualifications and experience, you can be in great demand in the infocomm industry.
Conclusion
8. I am therefore pleased that Institutes of Higher Learning, such as Temasek Poly is offering courses that will equip students with comprehensive knowledge in both infocomm and business domains, which would give students like you, a competitive edge in the job market.
9. Choose right. The prospects for infocomm professionals are bright. For those of you who have taken part in today's challenge, I congratulate you for taking a step closer to realising a rewarding career in infocomm. Thank you.
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