Singapore to Train 100,000 AI-savvy Workers by 2029

Officials say the programme is designed not only to accelerate adoption but also to prevent smaller firms and mid career workers from being left behind in the AI transition. The move signals Singapore’s intent to treat artificial intelligence not as a niche technology, but as foundational infrastructure for its next phase of growth

Singapore plans to train 100,000 workers to become “AI bilingual” by 2029 under a new National AI Impact Programme, as it seeks to embed artificial intelligence skills across professions from accountancy to law.

The initiative, announced on Monday by Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo during a parliamentary budget debate, will also aim to help 10,000 enterprises adopt AI over the next three years.

“Not all of us can be AI engineers. But we can be ‘bilingual’ in AI and our own areas of expertise, to solve problems in our domains,” Teo said.

The programme, set to launch in the first half of 2026, will expand the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s TechSkills Accelerator, or TeSA, beyond traditional technology roles for the first time. Tailored AI fluency programmes will initially target the accountancy and legal professions, before expanding to other sectors such as human resources.

TeSA, launched in 2016, has helped more than 24,300 mid career workers transition into technology roles including cybersecurity and cloud computing, while supporting existing tech professionals to upgrade their skills.

Under the new scheme, accountants will be trained to apply AI to tasks such as financial reporting and compliance monitoring, while lawyers will learn to use AI for research, document review and contract management. The goal is to enable professionals to redesign workflows, improve efficiency and address industry specific challenges more effectively.

Participants will also receive training in responsible AI use and data governance.

“By building these competencies, these professionals can devote more time to higher-value work which requires professional judgment and expertise, such as risk analysis, decision-making and client advisory,” the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and IMDA said in a joint statement.

Teo pointed to Geraldine Lau, a Singapore based senior manager for audit innovation at KPMG, as an example of an “AI bilingual” professional.

In November 2024, Lau developed an AI agent to extract and summarise merger, acquisition and regulatory announcements from the Singapore Exchange, a task she described as time intensive and repetitive. The tool halved the time she spent gathering information for audit risk assessments.

Teo said Lau’s experience showed that while AI could accelerate processes, human expertise remained critical.

“With hours of manual work saved, she can now focus on deeper risk assessments and applying her human abilities – wisdom, calibration and professional judgment – to complex work,” Teo said.

The National AI Impact Programme will also introduce a new AI fluency track for technology workers, including software engineers, to help them become full stack engineers capable of managing complex systems and workflows using AI agents. Further details on training partners and course formats will be released in the first half of 2026.

The enterprise component of the programme comes as AI adoption accelerates among Singaporean firms.

According to the Singapore Digital Economy Report released by IMDA, 14.5% of small and medium sized enterprises adopted AI in 2024, up from 4.2% in 2023. Among larger firms, adoption rose to 62.5% in 2024 from 44% a year earlier.

Teo cautioned that without support, smaller businesses risked falling behind.

“When they fall behind, more than gross domestic product is at risk. At stake are our entrepreneurs’ hopes and dreams, workers’ livelihoods, and their communities’ progress,” she said.

To support companies, IMDA will launch a Digital Leaders Accelerator Bootcamp aimed at equipping business leaders with hands on experience in developing AI projects. The existing Productivity Solutions Grant will also increase the proportion of AI enabled solutions it supports to 50%, up from 30%.

Singapore has positioned AI as a pillar of its economic strategy, betting that broad based adoption across industries will drive productivity gains and sustain growth in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

By Mohd Hassan, edited by Faustine Ngila (Impact Newswire).

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