The Government will help locals access to more than 12,000 information and communications technology (ICT) job opportunities through a three-pronged approach, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Of those, about 95 per cent of the job openings are for PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), they said on Tuesday (24 November).
The agencies also stated in a jobs situation report that some 30 per cent of the job openings are in “tech-lite” roles –- such as customer success managers, digital marketing specialists and pre-sales consultants –- may be suitable for applicants without ICT background or experience.
These roles may appeal more to mid-career individuals who are looking to switch careers into ICT, it added.
To help locals access these 12,000 tech job opportunities, the Government and the industry have adopted a three-pronged approach.
The first approach is to roll out “place-and-train programmes” for new hires and reskilling of existing employees.
At least 5,500 job placement opportunities with companies will be developed over the next three years.
The next approach is to provide access to company-hosted traineeships and attachments under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package.
MOM noted that there are currently about 4,900 such opportunities available.
Another approach is to nurture “a pipeline of talent” in the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), which has recorded about 7,600 intakes for the 2020 academic year.
Meanwhile, the agencies also noted that the ICT sector has the highest number of placements under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package so far, with over 7,000 jobseekers have been placed in jobs, traineeships and training places between April and early November.
Following that, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo took to her Facebook on Wednesday (25 November) to note that there is “growing demand” for manpower in the ICT sector which prompted for workforce transformation.
The Minister believes that such a transformation is necessary to ensure workers’ capability in taking up these emerging roles.
“Our efforts to help locals get into these roles have been encouraging so far. Since 2015, local employment expanded by 17,000, forming 71% of the sector’s total employment,” she wrote.