IT Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Professionals
4Based on Singapore Standard Occupational Classification (SSOC) code 252: ‘Database, network, infrastructure and cybersecurity professionals’.
Demand for skill in the Business Management and Operations Management clusters, as well as the utilisation of digital Apps & Tools, is rising among IT infrastructure and cybersecurity professionals
In 2022, the hiring demand for infrastructure and cybersecurity professionals reached 84,307 job posts, which is extremely high. Increased business digitisation and the growing need to protect critical data from cyberattacks drives this hiring
demand.
Examples of job roles in this job family include:
- Data centre engineers
- Cloud specialists
- Cyber risk specialists
The total relative importance of Business Management, Operations Management, Data Management, Apps & Tools clusters and CCS increased significantly from 65.4% in 2012 to 73.4% in 2022.
CCS increased in relative importance for this job family, from 1.6% in 2012 to 3.3% in 2017 but decreased to 1.1% in 2022. Among the top five demanded CCS for this job family, Communication, Problem Solving, Collaboration, Creative Thinking, and Self Management also appeared in the top five demanded for the Singapore economy.
The top 10 demanded skills in the Business Management cluster experienced changes over the past decade. Stakeholder Management, Process Improvement, and E-commerce Management became more important in 2022.
Top Ten Demanded Skills in the Business Management Cluster for IT infrastructure and cybersecurity professional
Titles of skills featured in this chart
- Documentation*
- Audit and Compliance*
- Business Requirements Mapping
- Quality Assurance*
- Governance*
- Continuous Improvement Management*
- Technical Writing
- Customer Service Delivery
- Performance Management
- Business Opportunities Development
- Brand Management
- Stakeholder Management*
- Process Improvement*
- E-commerce Management
- Legal and Compliance Management*
Circles with outer rings denote skills that only appeared once. The complete list of skills covered, with full descriptions, is provided at the end of the chapter.
* Denotes skills that also appear in the top 10 demanded skills in the Business Management cluster in the Singapore economy in 2022.
Skills that are consistently in the top 10 list in 2012, 2017 and 2022:
- Documentation: Write clear and concise reports
- Governance: Evaluate governance practices
- Business Requirements Mapping: Map business requirements to processes, identify gaps, and evaluate solutions
- Audit and Compliance: Develop compliance processes and audit strategies
- Quality Assurance: Develop and implement quality standards
- Continuous Improvement Management: Improve processes and procedures
Skills that appeared in 2022 but did not consistently appear in the top 10 list in 2012 and 2017:
- Stakeholder Management: Manage stakeholder expectations
- Process Improvement: Evaluate change and improvement processes
- Data Protection Management: Develop and implement data protection programs
- E-commerce Management: Develop, manage, and execute e-commerce strategies aligned to organisation objectives
- Legal and Compliance Management: Manage compliance with regulations
The top 10 demanded skills in the Operations Management cluster remained relatively consistent over the past decade. Project Timeline is a skill that became more important in 2022.
Top Ten Demanded Skills in the Operations Management Cluster for IT infrastructure and cybersecurity professionals
Titles of skills featured in this chart
- Project Management*
- Engineering Project Management*
- Documentation and Administration*
- Procurement*
- Vendor Management*
- Asset Management*
- Project Plan*
- Inventory Management*
- Warehouse Administration
- Supply Chain Management
- Contract Management
- Project Timeline
Circles with outer rings denote skills that only appeared once. The complete list of skills covered, with full descriptions, is provided at the end of the chapter.
* Denotes skills that also appear in the top 10 demanded skills in the Operations Management cluster in the Singapore economy in 2022.
Skills that are consistently in the top 10 list in 2012, 2017 and 2022:
- Project Management: Manage projects, stakeholders, resources, budgets, and risks
- Documentation and Administration: Develop and maintain supply chain processes, managing supplies and demands
- Engineering Project Management: Manage engineering projects, set objectives, plans, and timelines
- Procurement: Develop and apply procurement processes, select vendors, and assess risks
- Asset Management: Formulate and implement asset management policies and optimise asset performance
- Vendor Management: Manage vendor relationships and ensure performance as per contracts
- Project Plan: Develop project plans and manage project risks using tools
- Inventory Management: Formulate and implement inventory strategies, ensuring equipment availability
- Warehouse Administration: Schedule warehouse tasks, maintain records, and coordinate with stakeholders
Skills that appeared in 2022 but did not consistently appear in the top 10 list in 2012 and 2017:
- Project Timeline: Determine project requirements and develop timelines to ensure timely project delivery
The top 10 demanded Apps & Tools changed significantly over the past decade. Apps & Tools that are related to the management, protection, and productisation of data became more important in 2022.
Top Ten Demanded Apps & Tools for IT infrastructure and cybersecurity professionals
Titles of skills featured in this chart
- Microsoft Office (Excel)*
- SQL*
- Active Directory
- Java*
- Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)
- Oracle Database
- Visual Basic (VB)
- AIX
- Microsoft Office (PowerPoint)
- Perl
- Python
- CSS2/CSS3
- HTML4/HTML5
- Hadoop
- Apache Spark
- JavaScript
- Microsoft Azure Proactive
- Tableau
- Kubernetes
Circles with outer rings denote skills that only appeared once. The complete list of skills covered, with full descriptions, is provided at the end of the chapter.
* Denotes skills that also appear in the top 10 demanded skills in the Apps & Tools cluster in the Singapore economy in 2022.
Apps & Tools that are consistently in the top 10 list in 2012, 2017 and 2022:
- SQL: Database language
- Java: Programming language
- Microsoft Office (Excel): Spreadsheet software
- Active Directory: Directory service that helps organisations manage users, computers, and other resources in a central location
Apps & Tools that appeared in 2022 but did not consistently appear in the top 10 list in 2012 and 2017:
- Python: Programming language
- Microsoft Azure Proactive: Cloud-based service that helps organisations to identify and remediate potential security threats
- Tableau: Data visualisation tool
- Hadoop: Open-source software framework that is used for distributed storage and processing of large datasets
- Kubernetes: Open-source container orchestration system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerised applications
Industry Voice
RAJAT MAHESHWARI
Vice President, Cyber and Intelligence (Asia-Pacific) Mastercard
As the world becomes more digitally connected, the need to protect the digital space becomes more critical. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 20235, 93% of cybersecurity experts
and 86% of business leaders believe global geopolitical instability is likely to lead to a critical cyberattack in the next two years. Further, business leaders acknowledge the lack of skilled cybersecurity talent as a threat
to business and society. Sectors such as energy and utilities reported a 25% gap in critical skills.
This is compounded by the ballooning of cybercrime which according to recent estimates6, has a worldwide cost of US$6 trillion, accounting for 1% of the global GDP; this estimated cost will rise by US$4.5 trillion in the next few years. The harsh reality for organisations is that data breach or fraud is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’. This has led to the term ‘cyber resilience’, which speaks to an organisation’s ability to continue to deliver outcomes despite cyberattacks.
When we look at the cause of cyberattacks and the needs of organisations, three areas stand out. The first is that around 60% of data breaches are caused by third parties, such as an external vendor in its supply chain. This is known as third-party risk. This means that though an organisation may have good cyber hygiene, if it does not ensure its third parties have good cyber hygiene, bad actors can exploit these vulnerabilities to gain access. As such, there is a growing need for cybersecurity professionals to have Cyber Risk Management skills especially in the area of third-party risk management. This includes close coordination with finance and procurement to ensure third parties that are onboarded do not introduce vulnerabilities.
The second area is to stem cybersecurity skills shortage in key areas such as cyber threat intelligence (CTI). CTI is the practice of continuously detecting vulnerabilities and potential threats that bad actors may try to exploit. Given the dearth of talent in this field, Mastercard is working with the Nanyang Technology University (NTU) to put together a comprehensive program to grow the CTI talent pipeline that can serve Singapore and ASEAN region.
The third area gaining attention is the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to cybersecurity and trusted AI which aims to ensure AI is free of bias. This is a key area that Singapore could build focus on given its reputation as a trusted business hub.
The three areas highlight the need to develop a talent pipeline in cybersecurity that can meet evolving needs to secure the digital ecosystem.
5 World Economic Forum – “Global Cybersecurity Outlook
2023”
6 PurpleSec website – “Cyber Security Statistics, The
Ultimate List Of Stats Data, & Trends For 2023”
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