IMDA commits to support Singapore 5G rollout with skilled workforce

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)of Singapore has partnered with the country's mobile network operators (MNOs) to hire and reskill 1,000 professionals to support Singapore's 5G rollout. Of these, 30% are new roles, while the remaining are telecom professionals who will be upskilled in the areas of 5G networking, cybersecurity and solution engineering to futureproof their jobs. The demand for 5G professionals is expected to grow as Singapore's 5G rollout gathers momentum and more enterprises participate in the ecosystem.

Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive, IMDA, said, "Talent development is the next critical phase of our investment in 5G. This effort extends Singapore's momentum in 5G following our investment in building infrastructure capabilities. We have worked with the local MNOs to unlock the potential of 5G for these 1,000 professionals and will continue to do so to create good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans. At the same time, to ensure we have a strong pipeline of 5G talent who are skilled and ready, IMDA is leading efforts to appoint credible training partners to develop 5G skills across the ecosystem. The first wave of training will begin at the end of 2020 with the MNOs' 5G professionals."

Under the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, IMDA has set up 5G Workforce Transformation Committees (WTCs) with the MNOs to oversee the planning and development of their 5G workforce capabilities. In addition, IMDA will be appointing a consortium comprising National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) as the 5G and Telecoms Programme Manager (PM). They will be strategic partners, aggregating the hiring and training requirements from the WTCs and the wider 5G ecosystem players, so as to codevelop quality training to meet demand, and enable Singaporeans to take on 5G jobs. The plan is to work with the industry and equip a total of 5,000 professionals over the next three years to develop a strong 5G-skilled workforce.

Professor Susanna Leong, Vice Provost (Masters’ Programmes & Lifelong Education), Dean (School of Continuing & Lifelong Education), NUS said, “NUS is excited to be a part of IMDA’s multi-prong approach to facilitate the development of 5G in Singapore. Through IMDA’s TechSkills Accelerator initiative, and together with Singapore Polytechnic as IMDA’s 5G and Telecoms Programme Manager, we are committed to working with the telecommunication operators here and various sectors leads to take an integrated approach in co-developing and providing frontier 5G tech skills training that deepens existing employees’ skills and prepare new talents with in-demand competence. We hope, through this participation, NUS could contribute in catalysing the development of innovative 5G applications and services, and enabling the transformative impact of 5G for enterprises.”

Soh Wai Wah, Principal & CEO of Singapore Polytechnic, said, “Digital transformation is a key driver for Singapore’s progression into a digital economy, and it will be underpinned by technologies such as 5G. The new 5G and Telecoms Programme Manager is a significant asset and timely infrastructural addition to our 5G ecosystem, serving as a platform to promote digital transformation and innovations to enterprises as well as boost the education and training for 5G talents. As a growth lever, it will enable us to harness the processing speed that is needed to unlock the potential of big data and AI for scaling up and contributing to Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.”

Manjot Singh Mann, CEO, M1, said, “The development of Singapore’s 5G ecosystem is an exciting mission that inspires and motivates all of us at M1. Having secured the 5G network license, M1 will continue to work closely with IMDA to deliver a successful 5G story for Singapore, driving the next bound of Singapore’s digital economy. M1 has embarked on early 5G partnerships with institutes of higher learning, and remains open to collaborating with more schools, for students to gain experience with real-world 5G applications, helping them to pursue a profession that will impact today’s digital-first economy. Together with IMDA, M1 will continue to support the development of the 5G talent pool, create more job opportunities to support the 5G ecosystem, as well as provide upskilling opportunities to futureproof existing roles in today’s digital landscape.”

Aileen Tan, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Singtel, said, “With 5G set to transform not just our telecoms business but enterprises and industries that we serve, building capability in 5G and getting the right workforce in place has become a key resource priority. We’ve already begun training and reskilling employees in the areas of network infrastructure and enterprise solutions with a focus on developing critical 5G skillsets in connectivity, platforms, analytics and insights and user experience. As first movers in the 5G ecosystem, we look forward to sharing our learnings and expertise by working with IMDA and our institutes of higher learning to co-create training programmes to help build a strong talent pipeline to power Singapore’s digital economy.”

Catherine Chia, Chief Human Resource Officer, StarHub, said, “At StarHub, we invest continually in our workforce’s learning and development to nurture new skillsets in step with the fast-changing business environment. It is with our people’s drive, spirit of determination and customer-centricity that we became the first to launch compelling early 5G services for Singapore. With a whole gamut of exciting 5G possibilities that have yet to be discovered, the workforce training partnership between MNOs including StarHub, IMDA and IHLs* is timely. As a homegrown Singapore company, we are delighted to play a key role in upskilling talent across the local ecosystem to deliver innovative 5G solutions for the benefit of consumers and enterprise customers.”

Benjamin TP Tan, CTO, TPG Telecom, said, “TPG is glad to be one of the infrastructure providers for 5G and looks forward to pursuing a progressive timeline towards a commercial realisation of our high-bandwidth, mmWave** based solutions. We welcome the efforts of the 5G WTC to ensure that we have sufficient local resources in the workforce to enable this vision.”

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore's digital transformation with infocomm media. This is in line with IMDA's sectoral transformation efforts to use technology to drive productivity and innovation, unlock new opportunities and fuel growth in the digital economy, both locally and internationally. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore's ICM infrastructure. IMDA takes an integrated approach to ICT skills acquisition and practitioner training, enabling professionals to acquire the relevant in-demand skills. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore's data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission.

An initiative of the SkillsFuture programme, the TeSA aims to build and develop a skilled information and communications technology (ICT) workforce for Singapore's digital economy. TeSA is driven by IMDA in collaboration with the industry, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and the National Trades Union Congress.

*IHLs refers to institutes of higher learning.

**Millimetre wave or mmWave refers to a particular part of the radio frequency spectrum. This spectrum is considered ideal for high-speed broadband connectivity.