S'pore turns to neighbors to meet shortage of IT staff

S'pore turns to neighbors to meet shortage of IT staff

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore plans to bring in 1,000 plus technologically-skilled personnel from the region within a year to meet the shortage at home, officials said Sunday.

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore is working with NIIT Asia Pacific -- an information technology consulting firm -- to recruit IT personnel from China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, the IDA said in a statement.

"As talents form the backbone of any knowledge-based economy, this collaboration with NIIT to bring about 1,000 infocomm talents into Singapore will contribute to our goal of establishing Singapore as an infocomm hub and vital node in the global infocomm network," said Kaizad Jeerjee, the IDA's assistant chief executive for online development.

"The presence of international talents will contribute to the vibrancy of our infocomm industry," he said.

The demand for skilled IT personnel in the city-state is projected to grow at an average rate of 10 percent over the next two years -- the equivalent of 10,000 personnel.

For a start, the IDA and NIIT will source for IT staff from India, widely acknowledged as a hotbed for software talent.

Singapore is arguably the region's most high-tech society, and the government is positioning the city-state as a global Internet economy hub.