| MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2017 | THE STRAITS TIMES |
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Jobs for the future
Big data spells big opportunities here
In the second of a weekly series
on bright spots in the economy,
we look at the digital sector.
Irene Tham
Senior Tech Correspondent
My boss told me to bet my future
on big data, said Ms Goh Sok Kim.
And bet on data she did when she ac-
cepted a newly created role as head
of Citis data innovation office in
Asia 18 months ago.
The banking group is one of a grow-
ing number of firms which believe
that mining the data of customers,
such as their feedback and past pur-
chases, is strategic to their business.
The end goal is to better manage
fraud risk, recommend products
based on customers risk appetite or
preferences, and explore new cus-
tomer service opportunities.
Likening her team of about 10
people to a start-up within a big or-
ganisation, Ms Goh, 48, previously
Citis head of compliance techno-
logy services in Asia, said: We
work closely with the business unit
in the bank to identify their needs,
develop technical proof of concept
and deploy the technology.
The Singapore Government
which also recognises big data has
the potential to be a growth sector
that generates jobs has urged com-
panies to turn the wealth of data in
their possession into an asset.
For retailers and mall operators,
their wealth could be found in foot-
fall data and shoppers spending in-
formation. Analyse that, and they
can better plan promotions to tar-
get the right crowd.
To that end, the Government has
set aside $80 million over four
years under an SMEs Go Digital Pro-
gramme to help local companies
with more advanced needs such
as cyber security, data analytics
and artificial intelligence. Seizing
opportunities in the digital economy
is also a key recommendation of the
Committee on the Future Economy.
Mr Daljit Sall, director of human re-
sources firm Randstad Technologies
Singapore, said the need to make
sense of vast amounts of data that
organisations accumulate through
their online platforms will continue
to drive the demand for data scient-
ists, analysts and other such roles.
Randstad said it has seen demand
for such big data-related roles in-
crease by 50 per cent in Singapore
over the last two years.
A survey by the Info-communica-
tions Media Development Author-
ity of Singapore in 2015 estimated
that 53,000 new jobs in areas such
as data analytics, software engineer-
ing, cyber security and digital mar-
keting will be created by next year.
Ms Linda Teo, country manager
of human resources firm Man-
powerGroup Singapore, expects
wages for jobs like data scientists or
data analysts to go up as a result.
She said: More people should con-
sider data science positions as well
as related positions in digital mar-
keting and artificial intelligence.
Other factors driving up salaries
for these positions in Singapore in-
clude the limited availability of
skilled individuals and the restric-
tions on foreign talent, she added.
A 2016 ManpowerGroup Talent
Shortage Survey of more than
42,000 employers globally found
that such technology roles were the
second hardest to fill after skilled
trades such as electricians, car-
penters, welders and plumbers.
While data science roles are here
to stay, new ones in areas such as ar-
tificial intelligence, virtual reality
and the Internet of Things (IoT)
will also emerge, said Mr Monty Su-
janani, manager of technology pro-
jects at Robert Walters Singapore.
He said: Building the infrastructure
needed for a smart city will lead to a
demand for these new roles. Cities
around the world, including Singa-
pore, are transforming digitally.
IoT refers to day-to-day appli-
ances like light bulbs, air purifiers
and cameras which are connected
to the Internet for remote manage-
ment. They can also be pro-
grammed to turn on, for example,
when the air contains contamin-
ants or when motion is detected.
Research firm Gartner estimates
the number of such devices exclud-
ing smartphones and computers
will reach 21 billion by 2020, up from
4.9 billion last year.
Said Mr Kunasilan Gounden,
head of appliance maker Dysons
connectivity software unit in
South-east Asia: Technology of the
future should be intelligent enough
to respond to your needs and prefer-
ences, as well as the environment.
For instance, Dysons purifier fan
can respond to a drop in indoor air
quality by activating itself automat-
ically to remove harmful pollutants.
Users can also download the Dyson
Link smartphone app to track in-
door air quality captured by sensors
embedded in the fan.
And more appliances will be intel-
ligent enough to make autonomous
decisions based on their surround-
ings in the future, said Mr Gounden,
49, who started working in his
newly created role late last year.
More artificial intelligence soft-
ware researchers and developers
will also be needed to help design
devices with such capabilities.
Although technical skills are the
skills of the future, Citis Ms Goh
noted that softer marketing and busi-
ness skills are equally important.
You need to understand the busi-
ness to develop good algorithms to
solve the business problem or seize
the business opportunity. Agree-
ing, ManpowerGroups Ms Teo said
such soft skills combined with hard
technical skills will make IT profes-
sionals more marketable in the
ever-changing world of work.
As minister-in-charge of the
Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Bal-
akrishnan told Parliament this
month: We dont just need techies
and coders. We need people who
can apply tech to the real world, to
make a real difference in address-
ing the needs of real people.
itham@sph.com.sg Ms Goh, head of Citis data innovation office in Asia, says the future is in big data. She accepted her
newly created role 18 months ago. Citi is among a growing number of companies which believe that
SEE OPINION A20 mining the data of customers is strategic to their business. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM