Singapore’s IT leaders have revealed in a new survey what they consider to be the solution to the city-state’s critical skills shortage within the technology sector. Independently commissioned by specialist recruiter Robert Half, the survey of 75 CIOs reveals just under one in four (23 percent) believe the number one factor that would alleviate the IT skills shortage is promoting IT as an attractive career path for Millennials and Generation Z professionals.

The survey reveals the extent of the skills shortage impacting IT employers, as just under nine in 10 (87 percent) CIOs say it is challenging to source qualified IT professionals, while 83 percent say it is also challenging to attract them once found.

The second primary solution to solving Singapore’s IT skills shortage according to one in five (21 percent) CIOs is increased in-house training of existing IT staff. This is followed by 16 percent who think increased collaboration with education providers and universities and 15 percent who believe increased collaboration initiatives from the business community will ease Singapore’s IT skills shortage. Just over one in 10 (12 percent) CIOs refer to increased government initiatives and 9 percent believe all the mentioned initiatives in equal measure are the primary solution.

The IT skills shortage is not just about finding the right IT talent, but also of equal important to IT employers is retaining and upskilling their top performers, indeed more than eight in 10 (84 percent) state IT professionals are more willing to resign if their company is unable to provide them with their requested training compared to three years ago.

Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore said: “Singapore’s IT employers are currently locked in a war for talent as top IT professionals prove scarce in a skills-short market.”

“As Millennials continue to dominate a changing workforce demographic in Singapore, companies need to not only modify their staff attraction policies to attract the workforce of the future, but also actively promote the benefits and opportunities available with a career in IT and technology. Promoting IT as an attractive career path to Millennials needs to be part of a comprehensive approach undertaken by the business community, educational institutions and supported by government initiatives.”

“IT employers need to focus on not only attracting high-calibre talentdemographics but also on upskilling their existing staff. Professional development programs can be used to not only fill crucial skills gaps, and motivate top performing staff, but also to help organisations stand out as an attractive employer when the number of jobs available outweighs the current IT talent pool.”