The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) told The Straits Times that in 2014, when there were 150,000 technology professionals working in Singapore, about 15,000 vacancies could not be filled.

By next year, another 15,000 specialists may be required as fields such as cyber security, data analytics and application development clamour for more professionals, the IDA said. This means that Singapore may find itself short of nearly 30,000 information technology professionals.

Small and medium-sized enterprises said they are already struggling to find IT specialists.

Singapore-based mobile development firm BST Consulting, for example, has more than 100 developers in five cities around Asia, working remotely for the company, but only seven in Singapore.

Its chief executive Paddy Tan has been battling the big boys for this limited talent. “We are fighting for the same pool. Even fresh graduates can pick and choose because there is a shortage of such people.”

He said the crunch will worsen as companies such as Google go on a hiring drive here to recruit software engineers.

Industry players said schools here have not been churning out enough IT graduates and sometimes they have been taught outdated skills.

“When fresh graduates come to us, the coding languages they know have already been phased out,” said Darren Lee, managing director of Web-design company Fixx Digital.

The crunch has pushed up salaries across the board. A developer with five years’ experience can earn S$7,500 (US$5,300), while a fresh graduate can earn S$3,000 (US$2,100) or more. Still, there are not enough local job applicants.

Out of every 20 applications Lee receives, 19 are from foreigners. He has hired two Indonesians and three Malaysians and relocated them to Singapore.

“The supply is so short that we can’t afford to be selective. And we have to pay these inflated salaries,” he said.

The IDA is trying to ease the crunch. Its assistant chief executive Khoong Hock Yun said: “We work with companies to open up more opportunities (for them) to accept a greater number of polytechnic graduates.”

Several full-time diploma and degree programmes in business analytics were launched in recent years, in anticipation of the demand, he said.

“The IDA is ramping up its programmes to focus on these key growth areas, by training fresh and mid-career industry professionals to help them acquire the skill sets,” said Khoong.

But Tan of BST pointed out that training students now will not help firms in the short term, as it will take at least three to four years before these students graduate.

A spokesman for the Smart Nation Programme Office said Singaporeans can tap the SkillsFuture scheme to pick up the skills.

The spokesman added that human capital was a key part of the Smart Nation journey and building it up could open many opportunities for Singaporeans. “With the global digital revolution, talent is in short supply everywhere, not just in Singapore.”

Under the plan, total public investment need for the period is estimated at nearly 11 trillion dong (US$495 million), equal to 75.6 per cent of the amount spent from 2011 to 2015.

More than 8.7 trillion dong ($391.5 million) from the proposed amount will be sourced from the State budget, some 950 billion dong ($42.75 million) from Government bonds and approximately 1.288 trillion dong ($57.96 million) from foreign fund.

The mid-term investment will focus on building facilities for education-training and science-technology establishments to assist them in switching to the self-control financing mechanism.

According to the ministry’s statistics, it was assigned to manage the spending of almost 1.6 trillion dong ($72 million) from the State for 38 public projects, six of which have become operational.

Meanwhile, the ministry mobilised some $17.5 million in four projects from the United Nations and the government of Japan, Germany and Republic of Korea.

The survey collected the data between 2011 and 2015 and found that 23 percent of the total number of Lao students studying abroad chose to study business administration and/or law.

This was followed by social science and information and communication while health and social welfare represented 10 percent of the total figure.

Education and teacher training, along with science, production, construction and art represented about 9 percent of the total figure.

Subjects with the smallest number of students studying abroad included services; transport and defence which made up only 1 percent of the total figure while agriculture, forestry and fisheries and veterinary medicine represented only 3 percent of the figure.

Laos will continue to face challenges in relation to having more skilled people in some sectors but lacking skilled human resources in other sectors.

A senior official from the Ministry of Education and Sports’ Student Affairs Department Bounxom Khemmanyvanh told Vientiane Times last week that “Our main challenge is that we produce human resources based on scholarships given by foreign countries and other international organisations.”

“We have not yet produced human resources based on the development needs of our country because we have yet to invest our capital in sending students to study overseas in sectors we need.”

Bounxom said the sectors which require development and skilled resources include engineering, technology, agriculture and railways.

Every year, Lao people win scholarships to study bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees as well as attend training abroad to further sharpen their knowledge and skills.

In 2015, some 5,260 students went to study and attend training in 25 countries abroad, of which 2,151 were women.

Bounxom was unable to confirm the issue in regards to where students work after their graduation. “What I know is that many students work with the government while some others work with international organisations or launch their own businesses,” he said.

“We are developing a programme to identify which jobs students intend to pursue after graduation abroad and see whether they work in the areas they studied or in other areas.”

There are five forms of scholarship programmes given to Lao students to study abroad. The first are those given in the form of government cooperation projects between Laos and foreign countries.

The second are those given through the support of international organisations. The third are those offered through bilateral cooperation between government sectors of Laos and foreign countries.

Meanwhile the fourth includes scholarships given by education foundations and the fifth group includes those who fund their own studies abroad.

Tot said she is very pleased of having been selected as Fashion Ambassador after walking the catwalk at Lao Fashion Week for the last two years.

The committee selected her because of her devotion to all things related to design and modeling and the fact that she is a fashion icon in Laos.

She is also considered as a good role model for young people and the new generation of fashion industry models. Self-confident and poised on the catwalk, she can set a good example of what they need to do to promote Lao culture and fashion.

This is the third year for Lao Fashion Week. It is envisioned to be bigger as it will feature more fashion houses and designers from both Lao and foreign countries.

Being an ambassador for this event, Tot will serve as an MC, host and ambassador for the various activities. She will also join the runway for the fashion houses of various designers from Laos and Asean in addition to promoting and supporting the Lao Young Designer Project Contest.

The topic of the Lao Young Designer Project Contest this year is Pi Mai Lao or Lao New Year, seeking to encourage young Lao designers to enter their new year’s festive designs in the competition.

Budding entrants will also be in the running to join a fashion design course in Paris, France, if their design is picked as winner.

Tot said the fabric designs and collections of the Lao designers should reflect Lao culture and styles of wearing clothes but they can also be a fusion of Lao and foreign styles to attract more international interest.

Protesters hurled bricks at police as scuffles broke out,while other demonstrators set fire to rubbish bins in thestreets of Mong Kok, a gritty neighbourhood just across theharbour from the heart of the Asian financial centre.

Police fired two shots into the air, a police spokeswomansaid, amid chaotic scenes. Rubbish bins, chunks of brick andbroken bottles lay scattered along the world-famous Nathan Road shopping strip on Tuesday morning.

About 40 police vans were parked nearby.

The clashes broke out after police moved in to clear”hawkers”, or illegal vendors who sell local delicacies,trinkets and household goods from makeshift streetside stalls.

The hawkers, long a common sight on Hong Kong’s bustling streets, quickly attracted a strong social media following underthe hashtag #FishballRevolution.

“To ensure public safety and public order, police took resolute actions, including using baton and pepper spray, to stop the unlawful violent acts,” police said in a statement.

The protesters had dispersed by 0000 GMT. More than 100 confronted police in a tense stand-off hours before on the Chinese New Year holiday, when most of the city is shut down, with rubbish bins and flower pots in flames nearby.

Police told Reuters they were awaiting orders about securityplans for Tuesday night.

Paul Lee, a 65-year-old security guard, said: “This is not the first time there has been violence in Mong Kok.”

“I am deeply disappointed in the government,” he said.

The underground train station for Mong Kok, a bustling shopping district packed with street markets, shops and high-rise residential buildings, was closed temporarily.

A police statement said three men aged 27 to 35 were arrested for assaulting a police officer and obstructing police,while three police officers received hospital treatment .Broadcaster RTHK said later that 24 people had been arrested.

The narrow streets in and around Mong Kok were the scene of some of the most violent clashes during protests in late 2014 to demand greater democracy in the former British colony that returned to Beijing rule in 1997.

Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group that is fielding acandidate in a Legislative Council by-election in a few weeks,was involved in the protest, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

Street tensions appeared to have eased off, but radical protesters and “localists” demanding greater Hong Kong autonomyhave vowed to keep fighting even as China shows signs oftightening its grip.

The clashes in December 2014 came when authorities cleared the last of pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets aftermore than two months of occasionally violent protests that had posed one of the Beijing’s greatest political challenges indecades.//Reuters

In the last decade, the country’s tertiary education has seen many changes.

Universities have been given autonomy gradually over the years by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The Government’s Decision 153 on University Regulations issued in 2003 said that universities have autonomy rights and responsibilities for planning, development, training programmes, science, technology, finance, international co-operation and personnel.

Moreover, the Law on Education and the government’s other resolutions also encouraged universities to carry out autonomy.

Tertiary education autonomy began in 2006 with financial independence among six public universities.

For the 2014-2015 period, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved other pilot programmes on giving autonomy in making decisions on training, scientific research, international co-operation and higher tuition fees.

Achievements

After four years of operating under the state’s allocation for university facilities, staff salaries and other items, the HCM City International University, one of the members of the Vietnam National University in HCM City, which teaches all curricula in English, asked permission to have financial autonomy in 2008.

Dr Ho Thanh Phong, the university’s rector, said that with financial autonomy, the university was given permission to collect higher tuition fees than other public universities without autonomy.

The fee was nearly US$1,600 per academic year, Phong said, adding that was used to develop the university’s facilities, including 39 modern labs for practical training, meeting the demand of enterprises.

“With the high fee, the university had sufficient funds to pay staff salaries three times higher. This helped to attract high-quality lecturers. Its number of staff increased from 44 in 2004 when it was set up to 362 in 2015,” he said.

When faculty have sufficient income, they have more time to spend on scientific research, which helps the university achieve prestige and attract funds.

They also will spend more time on their own duties in their respective faculties, he added.

Under the allowance of Vietnam National University – HCM City, the International University also has had the right of autonomy in outlining training programmes, Phong said.

“Autonomy brings large achievements for the university,” he said.

As of now, the university’s training scale has grown from two to 14 faculties with a bachelor’s degree, nine training programmes for master’s degrees and one for a doctorate, in its first year after establishment.

The number of enrolled students has increased yearly in spite of the high fee. More than 6,000 students including 30 foreign students are enrolled.

Nguyen Huu Huy Nhut, deputy rector of HCM City University of Economics (UEH), said: “Autonomy is an inevitable trend of the country’s tertiary education. That is a deciding factor for the development of a training facility.

“The university’s staff believe that autonomy acts as leverage for reaching its target on becoming a major university in the country and in world. One year after implementation, new mechanisms of operation created a basic and solid foundation for the UEH to quickly integrate into the region and world.”

A more comprehensive autonomy makes it easier to assess training programmes and open new faculties.

Collecting tuition fees under financial autonomy has helped the university have more funds for upgrading facilities, textbooks and other school materials.

Moreover, it has been able to offer tuition fee exemption and reduction, providing scholarships for learning encouragement, and scientific research.

Like the HCM City International University, the UEH has advantages in attracting human resources with high qualifications and capacity of scientific research.

The university still wants the Government to continue allocating funds for science and technology and training experts after it carries out autonomy, Nhut said.

“The Government should set up a legal framework for universities with autonomy to be able to access official development assistance (ODA) from other countries for training and research projects,” he said.

The university also wants to have permission to set up enrolment quotas that match its training capacity, he said.

At a recent workshop on reviewing training at universities and colleges in the 2014-2015 year, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that allocating budgets for universities with autonomy, especially their scientific research, still would continue.

“I expect that more and more universities should carry out autonomy because it is their right and gives them benefits,” Dam said.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said that the ministry would create more policies to help universities carry out autonomy.

In the 2016-2017 period, the ministry also will give more rights to universities, one of which is to have autonomy in enrolment, Ga said.

Najib, chairman of the 1MDB advisory board, has denied any wrongdoing and says he did not take any money for personal gain.

Attorney General Apandi Ali last week closed investigations of Najib and said the $681 million was a donation from a Saudi Arabian benefactor and most of it had been returned.

That has not stopped Malaysians taking to social media to voice their exasperation.

A caricature of Najib with a clown face and the words “in a country full of corruption, we are all seditious”, was widely shared recently.

The police responded within hours, with an online warning to the artist who drew it, Fahmi Reza, telling him they were watching his Twitter account and he should use it “prudently and in line with the law”, he said.

“The ruling elite of this country has always been intolerant to dissent. They’re always afraid of losing their throne,” Fahmi said.

“But the people have changed. The culture of protest and resistance is growing stronger.”

Fahmi was not the first person to be warned over social media comment as the police for the first time make use of Twitter to identify people who are being watched and caution them about repercussions.

“Action will be taken against individuals who spread false information,” is a typical warning to appear on Twitter, often accompanied by the Twitter handle of the person it is being directed at.

Responding to criticism of the attorney general’s decision to drop the investigations of Najib, police told another Twitter user: “Investigations will be carried out on the posts made bythe owner of this Twitter account”.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that the Twitter account issuing the warnings was an official Malaysian cyber unit account but she declined to comment on specific warnings, such as the one issued to Fahmi.

She referred queries to the head of the police cyber unit but he declined to make any immediate comment. The Home, or interior, Ministry which is in charge of the unit, did not respond to a request for comment.

– Reuters