Changes in Skill Requirements of Information Systems Professionals in Singapore

This paper reports the results of a study that investigates changes in skill requirements of information systems professionals in Singapore. The study coded representative job advertisements that appeared in the newspapers over a period of fifteen years – from 1983 to 1998. The coding results indicate that job profiles for programmers and IS managers have not changed dramatically over the years. Technical skills remain highly emphasized for programmers and business skills continue as the most demanded skills for IS managers. In the case for systems analysts, however, the composition of skill requirements has changed from technical skills being the least referenced in the early 1980s to being the most referenced in the 1990s. The recruitment advertisements have also increasingly indicated that they required systems analysts to possess computer science background. These results show the increasing emphasis on technical skills. They challenge the pervading theme that IS professionals should focus on business and interpersonal skills.