SGInnovate unveils national-level talent development strategy to connect talent and Deep Tech companies

One-stop gateway brings together companies and talent aimed at tackling demand- and supply-side issues in the emerging tech ecosystem

13 Jan 2023, SINGAPORE – SGInnovate, a Deep Tech ecosystem builder and investor backed by the Singapore government, today launched Deep Tech Talent Central (DTTC), an integrated strategy for solving talent challenges across emerging tech sectors; and the Helix Immersion Programme, an industry training programme for academic and research professionals in the biotech sector. Both initiatives were unveiled today at a launch event attended by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, and SGInnovate's partners from across the Deep Tech community. 

Charting a path for talent and companies through Singapore's Deep Tech ecosystem 

Led by SGInnovate and supported by private and public sector partners, DTTC is aimed at addressing ongoing talent challenges at an ecosystem level faced by companies engaging with emerging technologies in Singapore.

As Singapore’s first and only one-stop talent gateway for the emerging tech ecosystem, DTTC streamlines the way organisations and talent come together to resolve demand- and supply-side issues in two main areas – training and community building and growing the Deep Tech jobs marketplace.

SGInnovate will work with partners to identify resources, as well as coordinate and curate training and development initiatives from across the ecosystem for Deep Tech talent at all levels, from students to working professionals.

This approach offers individuals with an interest in emerging technologies support across all stages of career development – ranging from activities which help build early awareness and fuel discovery, through to career expansion programmes for those already pursuing a Deep Tech career. Key focus areas of the DTTC strategy include:

• Building communities of practice through domain-specific, open access sharings with experts and industry leaders. 

• Helping individuals deepen skillsets by curating training programmes with public and private sector partners to address specific areas of need. 

• Responding to evolving talent gaps and providing platforms for practical learning and experience for talent with technical skillsets 

Through these interactions with talent across a range of sectors and experience levels, the data collected via DTTC will offer insights into trends and the movement of talent. Partners SGInnovate will be working with to amplify these efforts include government agencies such as ESG, EDB and A*STAR, as well as various VCs, IHLs, corporates, consultancies, and startups, with more to be brought onboard through the DTTC platform. 

At an ecosystem level, this enables SGInnovate to plug rate-limiting gaps by working with partners to build on existing programmes and resources and map out opportunities across the four RIE domains. SGInnovate expects to onboard over 500 emerging tech startups by 2025, an increase of more than 200% from 174 companies in 2022. SGInnovate's talent programmes, the Summation programme, the Infinity Series, PowerX and the Helix Immersion Programme, will also be scaled up to train over 900 apprentices and trainees during the same period.  

"With the launch of DTTC, we expect to catalyse more than 10,000 connections between talent and our partner companies each year, giving these companies unprecedented access to the critical talent they need at all levels," said Juliana Lim, Executive Director, Talent, SGInnovate. "Talent continues to be a global issue, and we are ready to apply our learnings at a national level. As we build up our digital platforms, we fully expect DTTC's reach and impact to grow further."  

Supporting Singapore's biotech sector with 'work-ready' talent 

To address challenges in the Human Health & Potential domain under RIE2025, SGInnovate’s newest initiative – Helix Immersion Programme – will support the growing number of biomedical and biotech companies in Singapore as they scale. This one-year on-the-job-training programme is aimed at enabling biomedical research and academic professionals to gain industry experience across both lab and non-lab-based roles at fast-growing companies in this space.  

This specialised work placement initiative, jointly-developed with biotech industry partners, offers candidates exposure to commercial biomedical technology operations. More than 100 HIP fellows are expected to be trained and placed with biotech startups and companies by 2025, addressing challenges identified in SGInnovate's recent whitepaper, Bridging the Talent Gaps in Singapore's Biotech Sector.  

HIP’s inaugural run launches with five initial partner companies with operations in the biotech space who will offer training positions for candidates in the following focus areas: 

• Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls (CMC) 

• Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) or Absorption, Drug Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicology (ADMET) 

• Regulatory Affairs 

• Pharma-level Project Management 

"As an interdisciplinary team focused on discovering and developing important new therapies for hard-to-treat diseases, Hummingbird Bioscience is delighted to be a partner to SGInnovate's Helix Immersion Programme, which will accelerate the growth of Singapore's biotech sector. Through this collaboration with SGInnovate, we will strengthen bridges with biotech ecosystem partners in Singapore and contribute to building a future ready talent pipeline that will fuel the ecosystem," said Piers Ingram, CEO, Hummingbird Bioscience. 

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Please access this folder for the full transcript from DPM Heng’s keynote address. 

Please access this folder for pictures from the event.  

More information about the Helix Immersion Programme can be found in the programme factsheet. 

About SGInnovate 

At SGInnovate, we build and scale Deep Tech startups into high potential companies with global impact. We believe that hard global problems can be solved using Deep Tech, and Singapore, where we are based, is uniquely positioned to realise Deep Tech innovations that can tackle these challenges. We focus on adding tangible value to the Deep Tech startup ecosystem in two key areas – development of Human Capital and deployment of Investment Capital. With the support of our partners and co-investors, we back entrepreneurial scientists through equity-based investments, access to talent and business-building advice. Our efforts are prioritised around emerging technologies such as Advanced Manufacturing, AgriFood, Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences and Sustainability, which represent impactful and scalable answers to global challenges. 

SGInnovate is a private-limited company wholly owned by the Singapore Government. For more information, please visit www.sginnovate.com. 

For media queries, please contact 

Christopher Sim, Senior Manager, Communications, SGInnovate 

[email protected]