The Information and Communications (I&C) sector in Singapore has been rapidly evolving in recent years, with technological advancements driving innovation and growth in the industry. The sector comprises a wide variety of sub-industries, including telecommunications, digital media, and information technology. As such, Singapore has established itself as a hub for technology and digital innovation, making it an attractive location for global tech companies to establish their regional headquarters.

As the I&C sector continues to develop, there is a growing demand for skilled professionals with a diverse range of expertise. Current job roles within the sector include software developers, data analysts, cyber security specialists, and digital marketing professionals, which play a critical role in the development and deployment of new technologies and services.

With emerging trends and technologies, job roles within the I&C sector are expected to continue evolving, transforming many aspects of the industry. Additionally, with the shift in media consumption patterns towards audience-paced media consumption, as evident from the rise of OTT Media, there is an increased need for media professionals with skills in on-demand media operations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the way businesses operate by enabling machines to perform tasks that traditionally required human intelligence. With the increasing adoption of AI, the demand for professionals with expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing is on the rise. In the I&C sector, AI is expected to be widely used in areas such as chatbots, customer service, fraud detection, and recommendation systems.

Cloud and Mobility

Cloud and Mobility is another emerging trend in the I&C sector, with companies adopting the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage and process data instead of using a local server. As a result, there is a growing demand for professionals with expertise in cloud and mobility, such as sysops engineer and automation and orchestration engineer.

Agile IT Ecosystems

There is an increasing number of organisations that are moving towards DevOps / Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) modelsto increase team collaborations and productivities, resulting in an emergence of job roles such as DevOps Engineers within organisations.

High Impact on ICT Jobs

High-impact roles refer to those that are likely to be automated or require significant reskilling to remain relevant in the next five to ten years. With the increasing adoption of AI, cloud computing, data analytics and RPA, many routine and repetitive tasks can now be easily automated, reducing the need for human intervention. As a result, the demand for these job roles is expected to decline, and professionals in these roles will need to reskill themselves to remain relevant in the fast-evolving ICT sector.

High-impact ICT job roles facing displacement or convergence:

Business Analysts

Business Analysts are professionals who help organisations to identify business needs and find solutions to problems. With the increasing adoption of new technologies in the I&C sector, there is a growing demand for Business Analysts who can help businesses to leverage emerging technologies to improve their operations.

Automation and Orchestration Engineers

Automation and Orchestration Engineers are professionals who help organisations to automate and streamline their business processes. With the growing adoption of RPA tools and other automation technologies, there is a need for professionals who can design and implement automation solutions.

Incident Investigators

Incident Investigators are professionals who help establishments to investigate and respond to security incidents. With the growing threat of cyber attacks, there is an increasing demand for Incident Investigators who can help businesses to detect and respond to security breaches.

1. AI Application

AI application skills are becoming more important in the I&C sector as businesses continue to leverage AI technologies to improve their operations. Professionals such as software engineers and data analysts with AI application skills can help develop and implement AI solutions, leading to improved efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making.

2. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing skills are also becoming essential in the I&C sector as more businesses adopt cloud technologies to store and manage their data. Professionals with cloud computing skills can help design, deploy and maintain cloud-based systems, leading to improved scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

3. Business Agility

Business agility skills are also becoming increasingly important as businesses face an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable environment. With agile coaching, professionals can help organisations to adapt to changes quickly and effectively, leading to improved competitiveness and growth.

Other essential skills required for job roles across the I&C sector include 5G-related skills such as radio frequency engineering, cyber risk management, security architecture, stakeholder management, customer behaviour analysis and data governance.

The Skills Framework

The Skills Framework (SFw) is a SkillsFuture initiative, designed to promote skills mastery and lifelong learning for the Singapore workforce.

For more information on each job role (complete list of skills, critical work functions and key tasks), please refer to:

• Skills Framework for ICT
• Skills Framework for Media