IMDA leads nationwide AI skilling to build AI talent pool

1. Minister for Communications & Information, Mrs Josephine Teo, announced at the Tech3Forum today (1 September 2023) organised by Singapore Computer Society (SCS) that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will increase training for the Information and Communications (I&C) workforce in key tech areas including Artificial Intelligence (AI). This training will be conducted in collaboration with five Training Partners over the next three years to help grow and nurture I&C talent in such areas.

Reskilling 18,000 talent with Training Partners

2. As part of the Jobs Transformation Map (JTM) for the I&C workforce that IMDA launched in October last year, it will be leading nationwide training efforts in AI. Over the next three years, IMDA is targeting to reskill about 18,000 talent in tech roles in AI and Analytics with an emphasis on Generative AI and two other in-demand areas – Software Engineering, Cloud and Mobility - which are complementary to AI. These are tech areas the JTM has identified as having a transformative impact on the I&C workforce.

3. In particular, IMDA aims to equip our talent with skills and experience to tap into AI’s transformative potential by helping them keep up with the rapid developments in such technologies. Thus, with support from SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG), IMDA is working with five Training Partners to scale reskilling and upskilling efforts in AI and Analytics. The Training Partners are National University of Singapore (NUS), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHub), Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and a consortium formed by Temasek Polytechnic-Republic Polytechnic-Generation Singapore (TP-RP-Gen). In addition, those in non-tech roles can also access the training offerings and equip themselves with more advanced tech skills such as in Generative AI.

Suite of reskilling courses targeted at skills required for AI adoption

4. The five Training Partners will develop a suite of reskilling courses with training interventions that map critical skills required by AI professionals such as AI coding for programmers and natural language processing for data analysts. The training includes partnerships with technology suppliers, such as tech multinational corporations (MNCs) and tech product start-ups, to provide hands-on training with software products co-delivered with industry adjuncts. The programmes will cater to learners of varying needs, ranging from short-duration courses to deeper modules that stack towards professional certification.

Inviting companies to reskill employees

5. For a start, more than 20 leading companies from different industries such as financial services, retail, hospitality and education have come forward with the intent to work with JTM Training Partners to reskill their employees. With the advent of AI and the importance of ensuring employees upskill, IMDA invites more companies to work with our Training Partners to reskill their employees. Through SSG’s SkillsFuture courses and WSG’s Career Conversion Programmes, Training Partners will identify companies’ training and reskilling needs.

Please refer to the Fact Sheet (260.50KB) for more details on the training efforts.

Partnership with AI Singapore to place and train AI developer talent

6. This push for training and reskilling is a continuation of IMDA’s ongoing efforts to place and train talent in AI. Leveraging on TeSA, IMDA’s partners such as Accenture, NCS, Cognizant and AI Singapore have committed to train about 3,000 talent in AI. AI Singapore’s Apprenticeship Programme (AIAP) has been successful in identifying, training and grooming core Singaporean AI talent who gained skills to build AI products. To date, the programme has graduated 300 Singaporean AI Apprentices.

To learn more about the course offerings, please visit TechSkills Accelerator and JTM's training partners.