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.