2008 has been a bumper year for those seeking a career in infocomm. A record number of 48 students received the National Infocomm Scholarship (NIS) - the highest number since NIS' inception five years ago - at the award ceremony on 5 August 2008.

With the infocomm industry recording double-digit growth of almost 14 per cent and generating close to S$52 billion in revenue in 2007, the demand for more industry-ready infocomm talent has been steadily burgeoning.

RADM(NS) Lui: NIS' distinctiveness is due to the multi-party collaboration between multinational corporations, local companies and government agencies.

Said Senior Minister of State (Education, and Information, Communications and the Arts) RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew at the award ceremony, "The future of infocomm offers promising growth prospects, and IDA is committed to grooming a sustainable pool of industry-ready, globally competitive infocomm professionals."

Through "unique" programmes like the NIS, scholars will not only further the industry's growth, but also contribute to the development of other sectors that leverage infocomm, such as healthcare and defence. He added that NIS' distinctiveness is due to the multi-party collaboration between multinational corporations, local companies and government agencies. Not only does the scholarship nurture infocomm talent in "diverse sectors", it also provides "practical industry exposure". Beyond academia, scholars get the opportunity to accrue valuable work experience and industry mentorships - a win-win situation for both scholars and their sponsors.

Since 2004, 155 top students from junior colleges, polytechnics and universities have received the scholarship. Of these, 38 have joined the infocomm workforce since 2005, and another 27 are expected to do so over the next two years.

This year also saw an increase in the number of supporting industry partners. Seven new organisations from diverse sectors - for example, Barclays Capital from finance, MobileOne from telecommunications, and Symantec from IT security - joined the programme, bringing the total number of sponsors to 27.

Beyond the NIS, IDA is also beefing up other aspects of its infocomm talent management programme. For the next three years till 2010, scholars will get up to S$7,000 to up-skill himself or herself. This amount can be spent on professional development courses such as client management, domain knowledge, soft skills or business communication, and is above and beyond the NIS sponsorship.

Click here for more information on the National Infocomm Scholarships. For details of IDA's other talent development initiatives, visit www.infocommtalent.sg.