Singaporean Public Servants looking to improve their digital skills and become more equipped to lead digital transformation in their Agencies can sign up for courses at an academy launched this month.
More than 6,000 public officers are expected to be trained within the first year of the launch of the Digital Academy, which is the brainchild of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group.
The academy will begin with 55 programs in areas such as applications development, data and analytics, as well as cyber security.
Another 40 programs are expected to be available by the end of March next year.
Speaking at a virtual launch event, Minister for Communications and Information, Janil Puthucheary (pictured) said Singapore’s robust COVID-19 response — from implementing digital contact tracing to rolling out home-based learning for students — had demonstrated how efforts to build up the public sector’s digital capabilities had paid off.
“Singapore cannot slow its efforts in building a digital-led Government, and the Public Service requires officers to achieve at least a foundational level of digital literacy,” Dr Puthucheary said.
“For Public Service leaders, myself included, we have to be familiar with the issues to identify priorities and standards in the public sector’s digital transformation,” he said.
Dr Puthucheary said for Public Service ICT professionals this meant deepening their expertise while expanding and updating the skills and tools they were already familiar with.
The Institute of Systems Science at the National University of Singapore is the operations partner for the academy, and nine industry players have partnered it in curating the curriculum, with more to join.
The courses are to be delivered in multiple formats, including virtual and in-person lectures, workshops, tech talks and hackathons.
There will also be on-the-job training opportunities.
Singapore, 24 June 2021
