MORE than four in five (84 per cent) of employers say that there is an increasing need for employees across various job roles and departments to have basic coding skills and knowledge.

Nearly a third of employers (31 per cent) say that a large proportion of job roles across departments within their organisation require basic and advanced coding skills.

More than half of employers (53 per cent) say that the number of job roles requiring basic coding skills or tech-lite jobs is growing. In addition, two in five employers (41 per cent) say that the number of jobs requiring advanced coding skills or tech-heavy jobs is growing.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub’s recently launched Industry Insights report on coding, to uncover the importance of acquiring coding knowledge, the demand for tech-lite and tech-heavy roles, as well as the priority skills required of employees.

The report is based on a survey with 200 business leaders across various industries in Singapore, and interviews with industry practitioners and experts from NTUC LearningHub and its training content partners. It also offers recommendations on how aspiring coders from varying backgrounds and level of competency can upskill in coding to further their careers.

Commenting on the report findings, NTUC LearningHub’s director of infocomm technology Anthony Chew says, “In today’s highly digitalised world, the ability to code is a critical skill even for non-tech employees as it will enable them to create value for their organisations. As companies increasingly adopt the use of low-code platforms, it is now possible for business users to develop applications, carry out data analysis, create machine learning models, and automate tasks. This results in employers looking for individuals with coding skills to utilise this technology. Additionally, by learning how to code, employees are able to communicate more effectively with technical teams and gain a greater understanding of technology, which increases efficiency for companies when it comes to implementing digitalisation initiatives.”

NTUC LearningHub is the leading continuing education and training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 26,000 organisations and achieved close to 2.6 million training places across more than 2,900 courses with a pool of about 900 certified trainers.