May 31, 2017

By JD Alois Last year, the Infocomm Media Development Authority, or IMDA, was formed in Singapore. Today, IMDA has become an factor in driving the digital innovation vision established by the Singapore government. Speaking last week at the Infocomm Media Business Exchange Opening Ceremony, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information in Singapore, touched upon various aspects of the country’s drive to create an innovation driven economy. Dr. Ibrahim explained that since IMDA launched the TechSkills Accelerator, or TeSA, in March 2016, more than 10,000 professionals have benefited from TeSA’s programs by gaining ICT expertise and skills. Dr. Ibrahim also announced the first TeSA Fintech project with DBS Bank to develop more professionals with capabilities in Agile Development, DevOps, Information Security, and Data Analytics for the financial services sector. Dr. Ibrahim stated; “We would also like to welcome new partners such as Tata Consultancy Services and DerivIT, which have recently come on-board to train fresh professionals in Fintech, data analytics, and software development. Riding on its past success in training data analytics professionals, IMDA has also partnered SAS Institute to embark on a fourth Company Led Training program to develop more data science and analytics professionals for the industry.” Singapore had about 170,000 ICT professionals employed in 2015. This number is expected to increase by 53,000 by 2018. TeSA is a key enabler in overseeing the development of skills demanded by the digital economy. TeSA is expected to pioneer a “new way of enabling Singaporeans to acquire expertise and skills and meet employers’ requirements for ICT professionals.” Since Fintech is of strategic importance for Singapore, it certainly makes sense they are targeting Fintech training and education. You may also like...