From front to back office, ex-sommelier among S’poreans gaining new skills to enter thriving ICT sector

• More than 12,000 jobs, traineeships, attachments and training courses are on offer in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry
• 95 per cent are for professionals, managers, executives and technicians, with 30 per cent of these opportunities in “tech-lite” roles
• Digital services are likely to remain strong revenue drivers as more industries shift to digital, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing noted
• More than 7,000 job seekers have been placed into jobs, company-hosted traineeships and attachments in the ICT sector between April and early November

SINGAPORE — Until recently, Ms Cherry Chai spent her days recommending wines and ensuring diners at the Flutes restaurant were happy. Now, after a switch partly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, she works in the fine-dining establishment’s back office using a laptop to drive sales — and she's grateful for the switch.

The 35-year-old started working at the restaurant, which is housed within the National Museum of Singapore, in April last year as the manager and sommelier. Since October, she has transitioned to the new role of digital sales and marketing executive.

Ms Chai is among a growing number of Singaporeans learning new skills to secure jobs within the information and communication technology (ICT) industry under an initiative set up by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore (WSG).

The latest Jobs Situation Report — the 14th edition — showed that more than 12,000 jobs, traineeships, attachments and training courses were available in the ICT industry as at early November, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (Nov 24).

About 95 per cent of these positions are for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), in fields such as software, web and applications developer, and network engineers.

About 30 per cent of these opportunities are in “tech-lite” roles such as customer success manager, digital marketing specialist and sales consultant.

These positions, which are suitable for applicants without ICT background or experience, may appeal more to mid-career individuals who are looking to switch careers to ICT, said MOM.

This applies to Ms Chai, who is undergoing WSG’s professional conversion programme, in order to be a digital sales executive.

During the circuit breaker, which came into effect on April 7 to curb the spread of Covid-19, Ms Chai said Flutes’ management made the “difficult decision” to go onto delivery platforms and use new digital tools to market the place.

“Without all the dine-in services, I took on extra roles to help the business. Since I have already been helping to update social media and the website ever since I joined, I decided to step up in this area,” she said.

Her new role requires her to do extensive research on various marketing strategies.

She is only one week into the programme, but already has several marketing strategies in mind that she wants to roll out.

“I'm quite excited to join this role because I have some interest in web design and now that this is my official role, I get to learn data analytics and more technical aspects,” said Ms Chai.

WHY IT MATTERS

The infocomm and media sector is a key engine of growth in Singapore, which contributed about S$40.7 billion to the country’s economic output last year.

And as demand for more advanced technology, such as automation and artificial intelligence, is increasing in the short- and medium-term, these digital services are likely to remain strong revenue drivers as more industries shift to digital, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing noted on Tuesday.

He added that the sector will remain crucial in its role as a growth multiplier for other industries.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to e-commerce giant Shopee, Mr Chan said in charting a long term economic future, Singapore must enable the birth and growth of homegrown companies like Sea Group — Shopee's parent company.

He added that the aim is to grow the next generation of companies that can uplift the economy, serving not just the Singapore market but also the regional and global markets.

When local companies are grown into successful global companies, Singaporeans can in turn benefit from better wages and job opportunities, said Mr Chan.

WHAT ROLES ARE AVAILABLE

In the more than 12,000 openings offered by the ICT industry:

• There were more than 11,400 jobs for PMETs and at least 600 for non-PMETs

• There were about 4,900 company-hosted traineeships and attachments as at early November in areas such as digital marketing, network engineering and cybersecurity

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, who was also present at the Shopee visit, said more than 7,000 job seekers were placed into jobs, company-hosted traineeships and attachments in the ICT sector between April and early November.

This is the sector with by far the highest placements under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package.

To increase access for job seekers in the ICT industry, the Government and industry will be:

• Rolling out place-and-train programmes for new hires and reskilling existing staff, which will develop at least 5,500 job placement opportunities over the next three years.

• Providing access to company-hosted traineeships and attachments under the SG United Jobs and Skills Package. Currently, there are about 4,900 such opportunities available

• Nurturing a pipeline of talent in the Institutes of Higher Learning by growing their intake by 17 per cent over the last three years

HOW MUCH THE INDUSTRY PAYS

MOM gave some details on the monthly salary range for various roles within the industry:

• For management and business consultants, the pay ranges from S$5,250 to S$7,500

• Software, web and multimedia developers earn from S$4,500 to S$7,500

• Sales, marketing and business development managers earn from S$3,800 to S$7,500

• Computer technicians and computer network and infrastructure professionals earn from S$3,750 to S$6,700