The Government is expanding the Home Access Programme, which provides low-income households with low-cost broadband connectivity at home, and a tablet, to benefit 16,000 households, in addition to the current 8,000 on the programme.
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), acknowledged in his committee of supply (COS) debate speech, that while Singapore has the infrastructure in place to support a digital economy, many companies lack the awareness of the possibilities. In order to help increase awareness of the power of harnessing data, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will establish a Data Innovation Programme Office (DIPO) to lead this effort. The DIPO will address industry concerns by facilitating data-driven innovation projects, and the development of the data ecosystem.
In response to the MCI COS debate, Mr Chee Hong Tat, MCI Minister of State, said that the Media Manpower Plan will have four key thrust areas:
(1) To deepen the core skills of the media workforce to ensure they remain competitive;
(2) There will be efforts to enhance the media industry’s attractiveness by developing a skills framework for media professionals. This will involve both IMDA and SkillsFuture Singapore working together;
(3) To provide better support for media freelancers, in line with the Ministry of Manpower’s broader efforts to encourage fair and progressive workplaces. This will involve both IMDA and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) working together; and
(4) To partner key industry players and industry associations to develop media professionals and propagate good practices.
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Source: The Business Times, 7 March 2017