S'pore funds high-tech training

S'pore funds high-tech training

Agence France Presse, Singapore

Singapore on Tuesday pledged to invest about US$10 million to
groom a pool of high-tech professionals over the next three years
despite the recession and the dotcom collapse.

The fund will go towards the local and overseas training and
attachment of fresh graduates and professionals, and will
complement two separate Internet training programs launched in
June.

"Because the training is designed to be relevant to the needs
of the industry, this means that Singapore will have a ready pool
of trained Infocomm specialists in projected high-end technology
areas," said Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) executive
Kaizad Heerjee.

These sectors include wireless technology, intelligent web
services, Internet security as well as Java technology.

The stints would help Singapore graduates find employment
during the downturn and enable experienced professionals to
upgrade their expertise, IDA said in a statement.

Trainees will be posted to research institutes, technology
universities and multinational corporations for three to 12
months.

The island launched two new Internet training programs in June
to improve the quality of the city-state's work force.

One program was designed to make executives and managers of
small and medium enterprises adept at using the Internet in their
businesses.

A survey on Internet literacy carried out in June showed only
eight percent of Singapore's work force have a comprehensive
understanding of the use of the Internet for business.