Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at Singapore Computer Society Splash Forum 2025

Good morning, everyone. It is my pleasure to be here today at the SCS Splash Forum.

We are living in exciting times, with the rapid advances in technology. Today, we are no strangers to digitalisation and AI. Many of you would have experimented with the use of AI in your daily lives - to solve everyday problems and plan your overseas trips.

At work, about three in four workers are AI users - to brainstorm for new ideas and do work better and faster. This could mean using AI to generate ideas for your next project or to provide feedback on your drafts.

The use of AI is extensive in our daily lives and this digital revolution creates exciting possibilities for those seeking a career in tech. To be clear, tech jobs are not limited to the tech sector.

There is huge potential for companies outside the tech sector to harness the power of digital technologies, especially AI. Consider AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants. Companies across various sectors have adopted such digital solutions to empower their customer service teams to focus on more complex issues and provide better service for their clients.

But it is not a simple case of plug, play, and forget. Companies will need tech professionals who are able to develop these solutions and integrate them into their core business processes. This is why across the broader economy, you can find many tech roles in non-tech industries such as in healthcare, financial, manufacturing and many more. For example, in hospitals, they will need help in terms of deploying solutions to help clinicians and doctors deliver better health outcomes. Finance companies need tech professionals to deliver solutions and provide better services.

While there is significant demand for tech roles, at the same time given the rapid changes, understandably some of you may have concerns about job prospects in tech. Many questions I hear from students or young people around your age:

1. Would my job be safe from AI?

2. Would what I learn in school be still relevant when I join the workforce?

3. How can my skills and experience remain valued by employers when tech changes so fast?

4. Would I lose my job to a tech professional outside of Singapore if work can be done anywhere around the world?

Unfortunately, I don't have a crystal ball. But let me share my perspectives on these pertinent questions. You can ask ChatGPT to compare the responses - I did this just to get a sense!

Let me start by taking stock of where we are before getting too carried away by headlines or the latest sentiments amplified by social media.

As a context, the need for tech roles in Singapore remains healthy. The number of tech professionals is growing year-on-year, rising from approximately 208,000 in 2023 to 214,000 in 2024. There are still many vacancies that are not filled, and this number far exceeds the number of Information and Digital Technologies (IDT) graduates in each year! And this has been so for many years, which shows a strong demand for tech professionals in the economy.

Tech jobs continue to offer good prospects and good salaries. In 2024, our IDT polytechnic graduates earned a median gross monthly salary of $3,000, above the $2,900 median for all polytechnic graduates, while IDT university graduates took home $5,600, also above the $4,500 median for all university graduates, making IDT among the top-paying course clusters.

In short, good job opportunities in tech remain. Beyond that, if you do well and continue to be relevant, you have good prospects and will have many job opportunities not just in Singapore, but also in the region and around the world.

Having established the context, let me attempt to address some of the questions I've heard. Let me approach these questions at two levels - individual and sectoral.

First for individuals, we have to recognise that the skills and competencies of tech professionals that are in demand will change as the tech landscape evolves and becomes more advanced.

1. First, we are seeing a growing demand for "bilingual AI talents" who can bridge technical expertise with domain knowledge. These are tech professionals who not only understand AI but also have deep knowledge of specific industries and business domains to transform work and improve outcomes. In the coming years, I expect that the demand for such abilities to remain high. Why do I say that? AI is a general-purpose technology. Its impact will be most felt when it is applied to address real-world problems. For example, in healthcare, we will need people who can use AI and understand how hospitals operate and what clinicians need. This allows them to create tools that healthcare professionals will find useful. You have to understand the domain in which you are applying your technology to solve problems, and that is how you become relevant and valuable.

2. Second, employers are seeking candidates who can adapt as their roles evolve with technology. Take coding, for instance - AI tools help beginners build projects faster and allow professionals to save time on routine tasks. This has enabled them to focus their energies on more complex aspects of their jobs, such as discovering problems, designing solutions, and collaborating across teams. The most valuable candidates will be those who can harness AI strategically across this entire workflow.

Employers also value candidates who are proactive about learning beyond the classroom. This means taking the initiative to explore new technologies, participating in hackathons, contributing to open-source projects, and gaining real-world experience through internships and industry events. I encourage all of you to stay curious and make full use of all the resources and opportunities available to you.

Take today's Splash Forum as an example. As SCS Student Chapter members, you have exclusive access to events like this where you can connect with industry leaders and explore options for careers in tech while you are still studying. This could be an avenue for you to seek out internships, mentorships, and real-world projects through these networking opportunities.

I therefore strongly encourage you to make the most of today's Forum. The companies here have committed to upskilling and reskilling their employees for a lifelong career in tech. Talk to them, find out what they are doing, and learn about what they look for when hiring.

What all this means is that as the demand for tech talent continues to grow, existing tech workers will need to continue to upskill or reskill to remain relevant. Besides possessing basic technical skills, our students and workers need to stay adaptable and updated with industry trends.

I must also add at this juncture that I believe fundamentals will remain important. Tools and coding languages come and go. You can use AI tools to generate code, or "vibe coding" as some people refer to it. But to truly apply tech for impact, tech professionals would need to master the fundamentals. By doing so, tech professionals can also more easily adapt to changing tech environments and reskill to adopt new tools.

At the sector level, we recognise the need for our tech professionals to invest in continuously upskilling and reskilling. That is the only way for us to remain relevant, and for the sector to remain competitive.

At the same time, the government is mindful that the onus of reskilling and upskilling cannot be totally carried on the shoulders of the individual, although the individual must do his or her part. As a sector, we need to ensure that there are various career pathways and meaningful training opportunities available to individuals and employers. That is why, we are working closely with industry partners to put this in place.

I am delighted to share that we have made good progress in this regard. IMDA's TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) for ITE and Polytechnics Alliance (TIP Alliance), as well as TeSA's Company-led Training Programme (CLT) for graduates and mid-career workers, are showing encouraging success.

1. Since the TIP Alliance's launch in 2022, students have gained industry-relevant experience and increased their employability in tech through structured internships, industry certifications, and overseas attachments. More than 1,000 job opportunities have been committed by companies such as Accenture, Oracle, Google, Temus, and Foodpanda. We have also placed more than 1,300 IDT polytechnic and ITE students in year-long internships over the last two years. I met many of the students, and heard that many of them found careers in the companies they were attached to. They worked on real world problems and earned certifications during their time with the companies. There were also mentors to guide students - someone who has done the work before with many years of experience, this will make a real difference for our students.

2. Since 2016, the TeSA initiative has placed more than 21,000 locals into tech jobs, offering hands-on training programmes that help participants build industry-relevant technical skills through on-the-job training in areas such as AI, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Software Engineering and Virtual Production, helping them develop job-ready skills.

I want to thank our industry partners for stepping forward to support our students. We welcome more companies to join us in building a vibrant ecosystem in Singapore for our future tech professionals.

And to you students, you have this network of support from government and industry behind you. We are committed to supporting you throughout your tech career journey - whether you're seeking internships, your first role, or looking to upskill. Regardless of your starting point, as long as you have an interest in technology, want to take up a tech role, and are prepared to do the hard work, the Government will partner with the industry to create pathways for you to have a meaningful career.

In conclusion, to the students here today, you have heard about the many opportunities available to you. Make the most of them and continue to learn, adapt, and grow in this rapidly evolving field.

And to our partners here today, we thank you for your continued support in nurturing the next generation of tech professionals, and we look forward to continuing this important work together.