Skills gap continues to become among major challenges faced by global businesses across industries. In Singapore, the skills gap within IT sector makes it difficult for organisations to innovate and grow. Responding to this situation, a new survey commissioned byspecialised recruiter Robert Half found that most IT employers in the country are expecting positive results and already planning to jump on 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.

The Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore, Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard said, “In this fast-moving, tech-driven landscape, it is essential for companies to develop their IT capabilities to stay competitive. The Singaporean government has taken a positive step forward by creating initiatives that support companies. The TechSkills Accelerator is a perfect example as it aims at upskilling local IT talent, driving productivity and ultimately, the Singaporean economy.”

Majority leaders in IT companies believe that they can benefit from the initiative as TeSA is projected have a positive impact on the local employment market. More than half CIOs (60 percent) surveyed said that TeSA will enhance skillsets among IT professionals in Singapore, while 53 percent 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 percent) CIOs respectively predict TeSA will increase average salaries for skilled IT talent and increase competition among employers battling to secure the right candidate. Meanwhile, about 1 in 3 employers (36 percent) believe that this program will decrease the IT skills shortage, while only 3 percent of CIOs do not think TeSA will impact the IT employment market.

See: Singapore Ranks 1 out of 157 Countries in World Bank’s Human Capital Index

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[2].

The top five IT skills CIOs are looking to develop are IT security (53 percent), data analytics (37 percent), business analysis (32 percent), business intelligence (32 percent) and IT management (25 percent).

Mr. Matthieu said, “There is a huge appetite among business leaders for upskilling their staff to meet the demands of new and evolving technology – no doubt driven by the challenges of securing talented IT professionals in today’s skills-short marketplace. New technologies are emerging every day, highlighting the need for new skills to manage them. This in turn underlines the importance of ongoing professional development for all IT professionals.”

“TechSkills Accelerator is not just an efficient government measure to help IT staff keep up with technological change. As new and exciting career opportunities continue to be created, upskilling and professional development opportunities will also become an increasingly important tool for IT employers to attract, retain and incentivise the most talented staff as we move into the future,” he added.

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