SINGAPORE - More than 12,000 jobs are on offer in the infocomm technology (ICT) sector, with the bulk of them - about 95 per cent - for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
This is after some 7,190 people were placed into jobs, traineeships and training positions in the ICT sector between April and early this month under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a jobs situation report on Tuesday (Nov 24).
About 2,160 of them found jobs, with about 85 per cent of these in PMET roles. Another 5,030 people were enrolled in attachment, traineeship and training opportunities.
This is by far, the sector with the highest placements under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo at a media conference.
The PMET jobs available currently include roles such as management and business consultants, with monthly salaries of between $5,250 and $7,500. The median monthly pay is $6,500.
Meanwhile, the salary for software, Web and multimedia developers is $4,500 to $7,500 a month, with a median of $6,000.
Sales, marketing and business development managers can earn about $3,800 to $7,500, with a median of $5,500.
Some 30 per cent of the job openings on offer are in "tech-lite" roles, while the rest require a deeper level of technology skills. Tech-lite roles, which may be suitable for applicants without ICT background or experience, include customer success manager, digital marketing specialist and pre-sales consultant, said MOM and IMDA. These roles may appeal more to mid-career individuals who are looking to switch careers into ICT.
There is strong demand for manpower in functions such as digital marketing, software engineering and cyber security, as well as for leaders to drive digital transformation across businesses, the agencies added.
To meet this growing demand, the workforce needs to be reskilled and transformed.
Since 2015, more locals have taken up jobs in the ICT sector - local employment has expanded by 17,000, forming 71 per cent of the sector's total employment of 190,200, said MOM and IMDA, adding that this does not yet include the growth for ICT personnel in other sectors of the economy.
To help locals access opportunities in this sector, the Government and the industry have put in place a three-pronged approach.
One way is through the rolling out of place-and-train programmes for new hires and reskilling of existing staff. Over the next three years, at least 5,500 job placement opportunities with companies will be developed.
Another approach is to offer company-hosted traineeships and attachments, particularly for those who may not have the relevant experience. As at early this month, there are about 4,900 such opportunities available, in areas such as digital marketing, network engineering, cyber security and cloud engineering.
In addition, efforts have been made across the institutes of higher learning (IHL) to nurture and maintain a steadily growing pipeline talent. Intake into ICT courses and clusters in the IHLs have grown by about 17 per cent over the last three years, with an intake of around 7,600 alone for the 2020 academic year.
For small and medium-sized enterprises, there are also programmes to address their talent needs. SMEs have participated in the various professional conversion programmes, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the placements between January and October this year.
While the pandemic has disrupted the economy and labour market, it has also accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, leading to the creation of new roles and an increase in manpower demand in ICT.
Some companies saw it as an opportunity to hire and train staff as they shift towards growth areas. Information technology firm NCS, for instance, recruited over 1,000 staff members this year, of which 70 per cent were mid-career individuals. Others, like tech giant IBM, will be offering more training opportunities for job seekers.
