F.Y. Teng | Nov. 14, 2013
The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) worked with the Infocomm Technology (ICT) industry some years back to put together what eventually became the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF). Completed in 2009 and continually updated and enhanced since then, the NICF at present serves as Singapore's "national framework for training providers to develop and align their training programmes to" mapping 587 competency standards to 314 job roles in ICT, and complemented by resources for developing "job profiles, recruitment and interview checklists, performance assessment and appraisal frameworks, training roadmaps and in-house training curriculum."
Today, through the NICF, Continuing Education and Training (CET) Partners, such as the Institute of Systems Science (ISS), Strategic Technology Management Institute (STMI), Lithan Hall Academy and Progreso Networks, more than 90 courses-categorised under: Software & Application; Telecommunications & Network; IT Services; Project Management; CIOs CTOs & IT Managers; Infocomm Security; and, Business Analytics-have been accredited under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications by WDA and rolled out to the industry.
WDA's Director of the Creative and Professional Services Division, Azzli Bin Jamain, recently gave CIO Asia an update on the current state of Singapore's ICT workforce, and talked about where it needs to change, as well as the critical role that the NICF plays in driving the development of the workforce of the future.
One of the top concerns of CIOs is that to do with getting the right people with the right skills for their teams, and putting their teams together, particularly when it comes to new and promising technologies or technology areas or computing paradigms. What is your reading of the ICT human resource pool in Singapore today?
Azzli Bin Jamain: Based on the 2011 survey results by IDA on the ICT industry in Singapore, the number of jobs with the highest vacancies are in the areas of software and application development, network infrastructure architecture and engineering, and infocomm marketing and sales. And the reality is, there is demand for ICT manpower across most job sectors. The industry is growing and we need skilled ICT manpower to take on some of these jobs and roles.
As for specific technical skills or technology expertise needed in the industry, increasingly we're hearing much about skills required related to areas such as data analytics, cloud computing, enterprise mobility, cyber security and Big Data. We're also hearing a lot about emerging technologies and programming languages-HTML 5, Python, being some of them -and the need for professionals with such capabilities in the market.
We've noticed that there's also an increasing need to have more T-shaped professionals. That is, professionals with multi-disciplinary skills and soft skills - not only strong technical expertise. In this regard we have collaborated with our CET partners to roll out WSQ programmes incorporating areas such as leadership, business and management skills for the industry.
Please elaborate on the reasons for this rise in prominence of the T-shaped professional, those with not just deep technical/technology knowledge and understanding but also in possession of the ability to work across and apply knowledge across multiple disciplines, different business and operational areas effectively in the workplace.
I believe it has to do with a number of factors, one being the expanding roles and responsibilities expected of ICT professionals, and changes brought on by the fast-changing operating environment that ICT professionals have to work in. No longer are they just sitting at their desks, facing their computer screens and working in silos. Increasingly, they are expected to work in larger teams, within and across teams, across companies, and of course, working across countries and cultures too. They are increasingly being called upon to manage projects, people and other resources. So certainly, fundamental skills once never demanded of an ICT professional, such as communication, negotiation and presentation skills, are what they must now have in order to excel in their jobs.
Besides that, what we're hearing a lot more about these days is the need for ICT professionals to also have strong domain or business skills in the area or the industry that they are operating in. Understanding the business is important. For example, if they're working in the retail sector supporting the systems of retailers-they need to understand and satisfy the requirements and expectations of the different customers and suppliers, over and above those of their various internal stakeholders. The rising expectations of groups of stakeholders, both internal and external, means that the ICT professionals serving them can no longer merely develop generic systems and simply deploy them across their enterprises. They have to think more seriously about things like contextualisation, to pay more attention to customisation and how they can support and add value to the business.
How should ICT organisations go about ensuring they have the skills that you just mentioned are lacking in the market?One of the relevant resources that I would refer them to is the National Infocomm Competency Framework [NICF].
To date, we have identified more than 350 job roles and more than 550 competencies under the NICF. It is a very big map of the industry, listing the various value chains in the ICT sector as well as activities involved. It's probably one of the most comprehensive maps in the world. It's an endeavour that WDA and IDA have undertaken in the last five years, and we continue to review this competency map regularly, identifying new job roles and competencies.
In developing the map, we work with the industry stakeholders to scan through the industry, including [examining] emerging trends, to identify what new job roles and what new competencies are required. And for each of the competencies identified, we work closely with the industry stakeholders to review and agree on the content-the [requisite] skills and knowledge-and then have it endorsed by a Steering Committee comprising senior industry practitioners and leaders. What that means is that when they appear in this 'map' they would have gone through a series of industry validation.
As such, the 'map' can be used with confidence by the various stakeholders to refer and to benchmark against. Training Partners like NUS-ISS use this as a "source code" to map and develop their training programmes to address skill gaps; to ensure that their training programmes are relevant and stay current when they are rolled out to the industry.
Employers use the map to enhance their HR practices and to support their business needs, to ensure that the people they recruit, and the in-service people that they have currently, are benchmarked and equipped with the relevant skills and competencies required for their jobs and operations. And the ICT professionals themselves can use it as a basis to identify what skills they need to have in order to enter the industry and to progress in their careers.
Do you find Singapore's ICT talent now lacking in business smarts as compared to, say, five years ago?
My personal take on that is that sometimes we can be overly critical of ourselves. I think we're not doing too badly in some areas. Our workforce-including those in ICT-has generally been positively viewed.
Of course, in the face of continued and increasing competition in an open and globalised economy like ours, we need to continue to be mindful of what makes us a viable economy. Our workforce has to remain competitive, skilled and dynamic. We should continuously strive to improve and upgrade, to stay ahead of the curve. And moving forward, it is also important for our ICT professionals to be able to progress and take on more strategic roles, such as a "business partner" and not be limited to a support function.
Please share with us how active a role your programme partners play in the continued development of the NICF and programmes that stem from it.
In the past, the role of a training provider was mostly limited to delivering training programmes. We have since changed that, [starting] some five years ago or so, when we initiated the CET Centre programme. The CET Centre is generally one level up from an approved training organisation or ATO.
The CET Centre delivers more than just training. They need to be champions of Continuing Education and Training, by being a flag bearer and actively reaching out to both employers and the workforce in the industries that they operate in. They are expected to provide some form of screening, career and training advice to individuals signing up for their programmes. Besides this, the CET Centre is also expected to monitor the effectiveness of their training and to track the performance of the individual at work upon completion of training-such as whether the trainee has applied the skills learnt and acquired at their workplace, whether the trainee has been retained in the job, and whether the trainee has performed well on the job.
In addition, we also collaborate with our CET partners on Place-and-Train programmes, a combination of structured classroom training and on-the job training. Such programmes are aimed at encouraging individuals who are looking to switch professions to join the ICT sector or take on different job roles within the ICT sector.
All these are part of the larger effort to ensure that the training received by trainees is relevant, so that local ICT professionals continue to be equipped with industry-relevant skills required at the workplace.
This article was first published here.