French aerospace company, Thales has established a new digital factory in Singapore, expanding its operation in the region. Over the next five years, it will be investing more than 20 Mn euros (S$31.2 million) in this inaugural digital factory in Singapore. 

The company started its journey in Singapore in 1973 and currently has around 700 employees here. But when Thales completes its acquisition of digital security group Gemalto, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of next year, it will add another 1,300 staff to its workforce bringing the total headcount to over 2,000. 

As it plans to host about 30 experts in fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, big data and Internet of Things in the first year and then aims to double its headcount in the next three to five years, Thales expansion plan would create more jobs in the country. The job roles that will be in demand include data scientists, software engineers and security experts and will be recruited from both local and global sources. 

The French company’s expansion plan is not only to get closer to its Asia-Pacific customers and partners but also to foster closer collaboration in addressing the challenges faced by local organizations. The Parisian company aims to produce high tech data-based solutions for the region using local expertise.

Olivier Flous, Vice President, Digital Transformation and Digital Factory, Thales said “We also hope to develop and deepen the talent pool of digital specialists in Singapore, making us a true partner to the innovation ecosystem in the country.”

Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, who officiated the opening of the digital factory also shared similar views and expects that investment made by companies like these will boost Singapore's overall digital capabilities, which is important for the country's next lap of growth.

Industrial companies riding the digitalization wave and creating exciting jobs

Singapore’s promising market and its proximity to the Asian customers makes it a strong hub for many international companies to invest in. Especially in industrial automation, such as industrial robotics and manufacturing automation, Singapore provides an excellent opportunity for global manufacturing companies to enter the ASEAN region, as the regional powerhouse for advanced manufacturing technologies (close to 90,000 are employed in this sector who contribute slightly more than 10% of Singapore’s total manufacturing output).  Further, manufacturing represents a significant component of Singapore’s GDP, 20 percent according to Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB).

As now, Singapore continues to move to the ecosystem of rapid prototyping, rapid innovation and rapid solution-delivering, the digitalization wave would also be creating exciting jobs for Singaporeans in specialized areas such as data analytics, cybersecurity, machine learning and software application development. Industrial companies like Thales will not only create jobs in these specialized areas but also contribute to developing and deepening the digital skills of the available talent pool, which is also the need of the hour. 

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