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These Singapore education programmes can help you get a job in tech

GA pic final

Singapore’s IDA will provide grants to help people attend a General Assembly class covering either UX design or web development

Chatting after the IDA and GA announcement

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), in conjunction with New York-based edtech startup General Assembly (GA), today unveiled two learning-by-doing immersion programmes to help residents build tactical and practical skills for a future career in tech.

“We want to reinforce that [every company] in Singapore needs more talent. Every company rides on technology, so this is not about trying to create one [type of] individual,” IDA Executive Deputy Chairman Steve Leonard said during an announcement event.

He went on to add, “Somehow [there is] this narrative of technology as a low-paid, not very exciting career path; [this] makes no sense to me. I think it is creative and inspirational.”

Branded as a career accelerator, the two full-time programmes focus on UX design and web development with an emphasis on “education to employment”.

The UX design course is 10-week long and costs SG$10,000 (US$7,145). The web development classes span 12 weeks for a price of SG$11,500 (US$8,217).

IDA and GA will be providing grants to cover up to 70 per cent of the tuition for Singaporeans.

It will not publicly disclose the total budget granted to support the GA education programmes.

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Applications for the programme are already open and Riley Batchelor, GA’s Senior Regional Director for APAC, said he is pleased with the numbers so far.

The classes accept a maximum of 25 students. The web development course begins on November 2 and UX classes start November 9 and will be taught at General Assembly’s campus located in The Working Capitol, a Singaporean co-working space.

“[The classes are] complimentary to other educational institutions. We don’t see ourselves as a replacement to colleges but [rather] in partnership,” said Batchelor.

The programme targets professionals seeking a mid-career switch, IT professionals hoping to leverage new skills for a different job in the tech world and young entrepreneurs hoping to found a startup.

“We are always on the lookout for great full-stack developers and web developers, so having any kind of programme like this can really encourage local talent and would be a fantastic source to find the next great team member,” Oliver Gilbert, Project Director at Next Billion told e27.

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GA and IDA said they are working towards launching additional programmes in 2016.

Speaking to the entrepreneurs and companies present, Leonard said, “There is a big doubt and we need your help. The doubt is, ‘If I go through something like this, will I find better prospects than before?’ What we are trying to do is make sure young- to mid-level professionals understand that they have a place [within] the companies represented here.”

To that point, GA has an alumni network of 25,000 people and over 1,000 companies have hired talent through the programme. The company says that within six months of graduations, 99 per cent of graduates find jobs.

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