Half of ICT professionals bank on skills upgrades to stay competitive

About 3 in 10 want more management skills.

Local Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals are feeling the pressure of Singapore’s fast-paced ICT sector, as a recent survey reveals that 1 in 2 workers feel the pressure to equip themselves with more skills in order to stay competitive.

According to Singapore Computer Society’s (SCS) Infocomm Media Industry Survey, local ICT professionals cite both technical areas such as data analytics (29%) and people and project management skills (39%) as key areas needed to further prop up their career development.

Further, the survey showed that over 3 in 10 (37%) respondents aged 36-50 feel the greatest need to arm themselves with such skills. This is followed by about 3 in 10 (30%) professionals aged 50 and above, as well as by over 2 in 10 (28%) professionals aged 21-35.

Additionally, respondents cited other technical skills that they thought was crucial to their professional success, such as engineering and management (14%). They also cited skills requirement gathering and process design (10%), and infrastructure architecture and
support (10%).

“It's heartening to note that many technology workers already recognise this need to evolve with the changing demands of businesses and society. They are serious and even willing to put their money where their mouth is to attain the relevant certifications,” commented Howie Lau, President of Singapore Computer Society.