Singapore’s IT employers expect positive results from the government’s new TechSkills Accelerator program. Read more here.
60% of Singapore’s CIOs believe the government’s TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) will enhance skillsets among IT professionals and 53% believe it will increase competition for high-level roles among IT candidates.
Top skills to develop with TeSA in place: IT security (53%), data analytics (37%), business analysis (32%) and business intelligence (32%).
63% are planning to use government initiatives, such as TeSA, to improve IT staff skill levels over the next 12 months.
As the skills gap within Singapore’s IT sector continues to make it challenging for companies to innovate and grow, a new independent survey of Singaporean CIOs by specialised recruiter Robert Half shows most IT employers expect positive results from and are already planning to utilise the government’s new TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA). TeSA is a SkillsFuture initiative which aims to help companies stay competitive by upskilling and reskilling existing ICT professionals, while supporting non-ICT professionals to acquire new sought-after skills and domain knowledge.
IT employers are set to benefit as many CIOs think TeSA will have a positive impact on the local employment market. Six in 10 (60%) say TeSA will enhance skillsets among IT professionals in Singapore, while 53% believe it will create more competition among IT candidates for high-level roles – which is a good indication for Singaporean companies struggling to source high-calibre candidates.
The initiative is a positive step forward for IT candidates as more than four in 10 (41%) CIOs respectively predict TeSA will increase average salaries for skilled IT talent and increase competition among employers battling to secure the right candidate.
Over a third (36%) believe it will decrease the IT skills shortage, while only 3% of CIOs do not think TeSA will impact the IT employment market.
With the skills shortage continuing to grow, companies are indeed coming under increasing pressure to take proactive steps towards upskilling and training staff. On a positive note, almost two-thirds (63%) of CIOs are already planning to use TeSA over the next 12 months to improve the skill level of their existing staff. Indeed, more than 27,000 training places have been taken up or committed since TeSA was launched in 2016 .
The top five IT skills CIOs are looking to develop are IT security (53%), data analytics (37%), business analysis (32%), business intelligence (32%) and IT management (25%).