Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF), a premier association comprising corporate members ranging from local startups to well-established MNCs, is heartened that the Government recognises the important role the Trade Associations and Chambers (TAC) play in the economy and the support that it is providing through LEAD plus.
Shirley Wong, Chairman of SiTF said that Government is definitely moving the right direction to enable TAC to do more to complement their effort in growing the economy. She urged the government to work closely with associations and empower them to help with the transformation that the government desired.
She is especially happy that the government is prepared to second 20 of their talents to bridge the talent gaps experienced by TACs to enable them to grow and to transform.
SiTF also welcomes the Government’s efforts to enhance the skill competency of the ICM workforce and to help workers to seek job opportunities in the fast growing ICM industry through TechSkill Accelerator.
Over the next few years, ICM will increasingly become crucial to Singapore’s economic development. The Smart Nation Programme launched in November 2014 wants to improve the lives of Singaporeans, create more opportunities, and build stronger communities.
The Government has launched a Committee on the Future Economy to develop economic strategies to position Singapore as a vibrant and resilient economy with sustainable growth that creates value and opportunities for all.
These initiatives coupled with the growth of the high-tech start-up community require the availability of ICM skills. Although there are more than 150,000 ICM professionals today, there is a talent deficiency especially in software programming and design of ICT systems.
With regards to the setting up of TechSkill Accelerator (TSA), SiTF intends to work closely with the industry to find anchor employers and to aggregate job demands so that people who invested time and financial resources learning and upgrading their ICM skills know that there are jobs available.
However, while all the schemes are uplifting, Wong also cautions that the devil lies in the details.
She shares that many schemes of the past were not taken up by the industry as the application was complex and even when the application was successful, it was difficult to get the monies needed. She hopes that the processes of the schemes, from application to disbursement to reporting are simplified so that they could achieve the needed effects they are set to achieve.