FINTECH MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC FINANCIAL CENTERS WITH A FOCUS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS

19 18 Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Talent Development in Asia Pacific 2.2 SINGAPORE There were more than 170,000 employees working in the financial sector in 2019, 31 contributing to 13.3% of Singapore’s GDP in 2019 32 amounting to SG$68.17 billion. 33 2.2.1 Supply and demand of AI, big data, and data analytics talent The data analytics industry contributes to the nation’s economic development generating at least SG$1 billion per year. 34 Big data and business analytics services provide high-value business to Singapore, and the economic value generated is estimated to reach SG$37 billion by 2022. The pandemic in the past two years has provided an opportunity for Singapore to rethink how it can embrace technology and nurture data-driven mindsets. It is worthy to note that 89% of Singapore employers expressed that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of Cloud Computing/Machine Learning technologies in their companies. 35 However, one of the main obstacles to adopting Machine Learning technologies is the lack of in-house IT support, and employees do not have sufficient Cloud Computing and Machine Learning skill sets. 36 31. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/three-in-four-new-jobs-in-financial-sector-go-to-locals-mas 32. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/three-in-four-new-jobs-in-financial-sector-go-to-locals-mas 33. https://www.statista.com/statistics/625794/gdp-of-the-finance-and-insurance-industry-in-singapore/ 34. https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/business-insights/insights/singapore-s-big-ambitions-for-big-data-in-2019.html 35. https://www.media-outreach.com/View/64002/ntuc-learninghub-survey-reveals-accelerated-business-needs-in-cloud- computing-and-machine-learning-outpacing-singapore-talent-supply-skills-gap-a-hindrance-to-implementing-these- technologies 36. https://www.media-outreach.com/View/64002/ntuc-learninghub-survey-reveals-accelerated-business-needs-in-cloud- computing-and-machine-learning-outpacing-singapore-talent-supply-skills-gap-a-hindrance-to-implementing-these- technologies 37. https://www.oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness2019 38. https://jfgagne.ai/global-ai-talent-report-2020/ 39. https://techwireasia.com/2020/09/is-singapore-facing-a-tech-talent-crunch/ 40. Chew, H.M. (2021, May 24). Financial tech workers in demand in Singapore, getting multiple job offers and pay increments. | CNA . | https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/finance-tech-jobs-singapore-salary-fintech-14875418 41. https://www.media-outreach.com/View/64002/ntuc-learninghub-survey-reveals-accelerated-business-needs-in-cloud- computing-and-machine-learning-outpacing-singapore-talent-supply-skills-gap-a-hindrance-to-implementing-these- technologies 42. https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/why-Smart-Nation/NationalAIStrategy 43. https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/national-ai-strategy.pdf?sfvrsn=2c3bd8e9_4 (p.54) Singapore ranked first in the Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index in 2019, 37 and is expected to have a comparatively stronger talent pipeline regionally. As of 2020, there are over 1,700 AI/Machine Learning engineers and AI/Data Productization employees, respectively, in Singapore. 38 It is estimated that 60,000 professionals are needed in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector by 2023 in order to meet the sector’s talent demand. 39 However, the six universities can only provide 2,800 ICT graduates annually. Even including the institutes of technical education and other polytechnics which supply 4,500 graduates each year, the talent gap remains large. It is estimated that there will still be a shortfall of 51,600 talent in the sector. The local technology talent pool simply cannot meet the financial sector’s Fintech development. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) highlighted that there were 21,000 jobs created in the financial sector in the last five years, and 25% of those were related to technology. While 75% of the total number of jobs in the financial sector were taken up by Singaporeans, only 35% of the technology jobs were taken up by Singaporeans. 40 To tackle the AI and big data talent demand challenges, employers tend to look “inward” to increase and sustain the talent pool. 55% of the employers said that they had upskilled employees who already have similar skill sets, while 44% of them expressed that they invested to reskill those who have no AI skill sets. 41 2.2.2 Initiatives/Government, Industry and Education sector policies that address the demands of AI, big data, and data analytics talent The Singapore Government has proactively pushed AI as a national strategic focus identifying five key areas to start its National AI projects. The purpose is to drive national development in AI, guide investments and generate a talent pipeline to support a digital infrastructure. By working on the five areas: transport and logistics, smart cities and estates, healthcare, education, as well as safety and security, the Government hopes that it will encourage collaborations to develop and deploy AI solutions. 42 The Singapore Government realized very quickly that a critical bottleneck for AI development was its talent gap, and therefore it now aims to nurture AI and big data talent covering different sectors including R&D, data engineering, AI engineers for product development and application developers, infrastructure engineers/developers and systems integrators for implementing machine learning systems. 43 The Singapore Government also proactively supports small and medium enterprises (SME) by providing them with financial support to upgrade their ICT manpower capacities.