While blockchain development skills ranked in the top three job openings in almost every global region, however, there is a critical skill shortage against the demand in Singapore. To help Singapore develop local talents in blockchain field and enable companies to leverage on this technology, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has partnered with the Token Economy Association (TEA) to develop and launch the Fintech Deep Dive Series, with the first series on blockchain.

The Deep Dive Series on Blockchain are new courses curated by TEA and the course content is designed mainly by Dr. Ernie Teo, who is a former blockchain Research Scientist at IBM. This series is meant for professionals who already have a good knowledge of software programming and wish to raise their proficiency levels in blockchain application development.

The launch was held at the inaugural Singapore Blockchain Day on 31st August 2019 at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability (e2i). The Singapore Blockchain Day is the first to be supported by the various government agencies, Association, Union and Academia in Singapore. It aims to create interest and awareness of the growing blockchain industry and for job seekers who are looking to pursue job opportunities in the new industry. 

In addition, SP and TEA together with the Banking and Financial Services Union (BFSU), Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), Enterprise Singapore and Workforce Singapore (WSG), also jointly inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop the capability and proficiency of talents in the fintech and blockchain fields through platforms including courses and workshops.

This collaboration aims to enable Singapore to build a pipeline of local talents entering the new growth and emerging areas of fintech and blockchain in support of Singapore’s vision to be transformed into a regional fintech hub. Interestingly, as per a recent poll by Ernst & Young (EY), over two-thirds or 68 percent of Asia-Pacific companies lack understanding of the application of blockchain solutions. This lack of education is the greatest roadblock for boards and executives when it comes to adopting blockchain solutions, the consultancy said. Given that blockchain has a huge potential to impact the HR function, this step by the Singapore University is a positive step in this direction.

Image Credits: Sp.edu.sg