Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is planning to spend S$20 million on new initiatives to expand and level up the nation's pool of tech talent with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
IMDA is intensifying efforts in pre-employment training and mid-career upskilling programmes over three years to increase AI-related SG Digital Scholarships and overseas internships.
These scholarships offer students the opportunity to work in the industry post-graduation.
The authority collaborates with partners like SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore, and industry associations such as SGTech and Singapore Computer Society, to help companies equip their employees with AI skills.
Under the Information and Communications (I&C) Jobs Transformation Map (JTM), IMDA is collaborating with five training partners to offer over 180 AI-related courses to re-skill 18,000 talent in tech roles over the next three years.
It is also scaling up its ongoing TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programme that has trained over 17,000 locals in AI, data analytics, software and applications, 5G, cloud and cybersecurity since its inception in 2016.
Through the TeSA for Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and Polytechnics Alliance (TIP Alliance), IMDA said it had secured 800 job opportunities for ITE and Polytechnic graduates in leading tech companies.
It is now extending the internship duration for students in ITE and Polytechnics from 6 to 12 months.
The initiatives have garnered support from over 200 companies for skills-based hiring and to provide practical guidance for firms to attract, assess and develop tech talent based on competencies.
