ICT Industry Competency Framework Launched

The Manpower Industry Steering Committee Working Group for ICT Sector (MISC-WG ICT) marks a new milestone today with the launch of the Brunei ICT Industry Competency Framework (BIICF).

The launch was officiated by Yang Berhormat Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, Minister of Transport and Infocommunications as the guest of honour. The event which took place at the Songket Hall, The Rizqun International Hotel, was organised by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) as the Secretariat for MISC-WG ICT, with the support of Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC).

Other attendees include Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, AITI Members of Authority, Manpower Industry Steering Committee (MISC) Co-Leads, members of the MISC-WG ICT, government senior officials, as well as representatives from institutes of higher learning and industry.

The ceremony began with opening remarks delivered by Ir. Haji Jailani bin Haji Buntar, Chief Executive of AITI as the Co-Lead of MISC-WG ICT. In his remarks, amongst others, shared that BIICF has been prepared through an extensive and concerted effort by the BIICF Working Group together with the Competencies Development Technical Group of the MISC-WG ICT, which comprises representatives from the government, industry, institutes of higher learning, and training providers.

The event also saw a presentation on “BIICF for Better Career and Performance in ICT Industry” by Haji Sairul Rhymin bin CA Mohamed, a representative of the MISC-WG ICT. The event concluded with a tour by the guest of honour to the showcase of BIICF-related programmes.

BIICF was developed to support the vision of Wawasan Brunei 2035 and The Digital Economy Masterplan 2025 and aims to ensure that the local ICT professionals have the relevant competencies to perform their jobs and to guide them with the required skills that are aligned with the industry’s needs. The Framework has identified 79 technical and soft skills competencies for 20 job roles across six (6) sub-sectors of Brunei Darussalam’s ICT industry, namely IT Services; Telecommunications and Network; Applications and Solutions Development; ICT Security; Digital Media; and Data and Artificial Intelligence. The job roles amongst others include IT Technician, Syste,s Engineer, Applications Developer, Solutions Architect, Data Analyst, Data Engineer, Cyber Risk Analyst and Security Engineer, which were identified as critical job roles and of high demand, based on the findings from the ICT manpower survey and stakeholder’s engagement held by MISC-WG ICT with the industry back in 2020.

Among the key information provided in the BIICF includes job titles, functional group, job description, critical work function, entry requirements, required technical competencies and soft skills with proficiency level,  and recommended technical training courses. The Framework  thus serves as a comprehensive guide on ICT industry job roles, skills and competency requirements, which provides a valuable and practical reference for the stakeholders namely industry, academia, government, professional individuals, students and training providers for career planning, development, training and certifications.

In addition to today’s launch, several socialisation sessions have been planned by MISC-WG ICT and AITI to provide the platform for the employers and learning institutions to explore and learn more about BIICF and how to effectively use or apply it for career planning, training and talent development.

MISC-WG ICT strongly believes BIICF will be beneficial for everyone in the ICT industry and hope that BIICF will be fully utilised for achieving better careers for the individuals, better performance for the industry and better economy for the country.

For more information regarding BIICF, the public can access to www.biicf.bn.