SINGAPORE: A new council initiated by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will bring together tripartite partners to better support workers and businesses navigating the impact of artificial intelligence.
The formation of the Tripartite Jobs Council was jointly announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) on Thursday (Apr 30), ahead of the labour movement's May Day rally.
"The Tripartite Jobs Council will scale outreach, accelerate policy implementation, and better direct resources to where they are needed most, to strengthen AI readiness for workers across the jobs ecosystem," NTUC chief Ng Chee Meng and NTUC president K Thanaletchimi said in their May Day message.
On Wednesday, Mr Ng said during a media briefing that the new council will support the national AI missions and the National AI Council, which were announced in this year's Budget.
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He said the formation of the council demonstrates tripartite commitment to strengthen job security in the age of AI, support business transformation for better jobs, and uplift workers through training and job-matching.
"AI is changing the way we work, and it is critical that our workers are not left behind," said Mr Ng.
"The Tripartite Jobs Council can bring together and scale tripartite capabilities under one roof as we take collective action to stand with workers of all collars, especially PMEs and youths," he said, referring to professionals, managers and executives.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng highlighted three areas the council will focus on: supporting businesses to adopt AI in a way that benefits growth, jobs and workers; providing broad-based and sectoral AI training for workers; and providing targeted transition support for at-risk workers.
"We will lead a transformation that is inclusive, forward-thinking, nimble, pragmatic and also practical in action," he said.
He pointed to the roughly 1,600 AI courses that have been curated under SkillsFuture, and the government's six months of free access to premium AI tools for Singaporeans on selected courses.
Dr Tan said the idea was to make AI literacy "as pervasive as possible" in the workforce and help workers to evaluate their level of readiness, before they hone their skills to become fluent in the use of AI.
"It doesn't even have to be tied to work, but to go on these courses to first familiarise, and then just to use it like a language," he said.
He also said there was room for the tripartite partners to reach out to businesses on using AI. He cited a survey of 2,560 companies in the first quarter of 2026, which found that about 70 per cent of them had not adopted AI.
SNEF president Tan Hee Teck said employers recognise AI's potential to improve productivity, drive innovation and maintain competitiveness.
"But many firms, especially SMEs, face very practical challenges, such as costs of adoption, skills gap and lack of in-house expertise," he said.
According to official data, AI adoption among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tripled to 14.5 per cent in 2024, but still lagged behind the 62.5 per cent of larger companies that have adopted AI.
"If this trend continues, the divide will widen, not just between SMEs and larger firms, but between workers as well," said Mr Tan.
In the first quarter of 2026, SNEF engaged more than 420 companies to help diagnose their business needs, redesign jobs and workflows, and integrate AI into their processes.
Calling the council's formation timely, Mr Tan said: "We need both speed and alignment to help employers seize new opportunities arising from AI while building a workforce that is AI-ready."
More details on its composition and plans will be announced in the coming months.
At the briefing, the tripartite leaders also addressed uncertainties they have heard from workers and businesses about AI's impact on industries and jobs.
Mr Ng added: "There is always a delta, sometimes very big, between anxiety of what we think AI will do versus some of the statistics that we have gotten.
"So we recognise the anxiety, but we also want to put these anxieties or concerns into positive action, where PMEs not only recognise the need to upskill, but will take proactive action."
The labour chief spoke of the recognition of AI's impact on doctors and accountants, based on conversations with them during his visits to various businesses. To address this impact, these professionals want to pick up new skills.
He also acknowledged youths who have the "growing perception that skills and academic qualifications no longer guarantee the first job, or even early career progression".
NTUC has also engaged senior workers who similarly expressed concerns about job security, he said.
Dr Tan said one of the council's aims is to look at the fractionalisation of work, as AI is expected to reorganise jobs in a way that affects the broad base of mid-career workers.
The council hopes to look at how to help caregivers return to the workforce and mature workers to carry on working if they want to.
Another focus is to ensure that the "onboarding" process for youths joining the workforce becomes more serious and seamless, such as through curated industrial attachments, said Dr Tan.
Speaking of workers in general, he said: "There are valid concerns about job security, the relevance of their skills. They worry about obsolescence, as well as the rapid, accelerating pace of change."
Singapore has always turned adversity into opportunity, said Dr Tan, who is also Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology.
"Our resilience to past economic and technological shifts – from the national computerisation drive in the 1980s to the skills programme for upgrading and resilience in the early 2000s – shows our adaptability.
"Now as we face the age of AI, we will draw upon that same collective strength once again," he said.
NTUC also released details of its plan to subsidise up to half the subscription costs of premium AI tools for NTUC members.
This was announced as part of the labour movement's AI-Ready SG initiative in February, and comes on top of the government providing six months' free access to premium AI tools for Singaporeans enrolled in selected SkillsFuture courses.
There are 21 eligible AI tools, namely: Adobe Firefly, Blackbox AI, Canva, CapCut, ChatGPT, Claude, Copy.ai, ElevenLabs, Github Copilot, Google AI, Jasper AI, Kimi, Leonardo.Ai, Manus, Midjourney, Notion AI, Otter AI, Perplexity, Replit, Studley AI and Suno.
From May 1, 2026, to Apr 30, 2028, NTUC members can subscribe to the AI tools using their benefits under the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP), which is meant for defraying training costs.
UTAP provides course fee support of up to S$250 (US$195) each year for union members. The ceiling doubles to S$500 for members aged 40 and above, while younger members aged 18 to 25 can get up to S$200 in support.
The members must have completed at least one UTAP-approved AI course in the year prior, although the AI tool they subscribe to does not have to be related to the course they attended.
The list of eligible AI tools will be reviewed regularly to ensure relevance.
"These tools will help workers with productivity, content creation, writing, software development and digital marketing," said Mr Ng.
"Through this, we hope to improve workers of all collars, give them some levels of confidence to harness AI in their work and strengthen longer-term employment."
Mr Ng also provided an update on AI training and mentorship initiatives under AI-Ready SG.
Over 4,000 workers have enrolled in AI courses on NTUC LearningHub
Continue reading...
The formation of the Tripartite Jobs Council was jointly announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) on Thursday (Apr 30), ahead of the labour movement's May Day rally.
"The Tripartite Jobs Council will scale outreach, accelerate policy implementation, and better direct resources to where they are needed most, to strengthen AI readiness for workers across the jobs ecosystem," NTUC chief Ng Chee Meng and NTUC president K Thanaletchimi said in their May Day message.
On Wednesday, Mr Ng said during a media briefing that the new council will support the national AI missions and the National AI Council, which were announced in this year's Budget.
CNA Games
Show More Show Less
He said the formation of the council demonstrates tripartite commitment to strengthen job security in the age of AI, support business transformation for better jobs, and uplift workers through training and job-matching.
"AI is changing the way we work, and it is critical that our workers are not left behind," said Mr Ng.
"The Tripartite Jobs Council can bring together and scale tripartite capabilities under one roof as we take collective action to stand with workers of all collars, especially PMEs and youths," he said, referring to professionals, managers and executives.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng highlighted three areas the council will focus on: supporting businesses to adopt AI in a way that benefits growth, jobs and workers; providing broad-based and sectoral AI training for workers; and providing targeted transition support for at-risk workers.
"We will lead a transformation that is inclusive, forward-thinking, nimble, pragmatic and also practical in action," he said.
He pointed to the roughly 1,600 AI courses that have been curated under SkillsFuture, and the government's six months of free access to premium AI tools for Singaporeans on selected courses.
Dr Tan said the idea was to make AI literacy "as pervasive as possible" in the workforce and help workers to evaluate their level of readiness, before they hone their skills to become fluent in the use of AI.
"It doesn't even have to be tied to work, but to go on these courses to first familiarise, and then just to use it like a language," he said.
He also said there was room for the tripartite partners to reach out to businesses on using AI. He cited a survey of 2,560 companies in the first quarter of 2026, which found that about 70 per cent of them had not adopted AI.
SNEF president Tan Hee Teck said employers recognise AI's potential to improve productivity, drive innovation and maintain competitiveness.
"But many firms, especially SMEs, face very practical challenges, such as costs of adoption, skills gap and lack of in-house expertise," he said.
According to official data, AI adoption among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tripled to 14.5 per cent in 2024, but still lagged behind the 62.5 per cent of larger companies that have adopted AI.
"If this trend continues, the divide will widen, not just between SMEs and larger firms, but between workers as well," said Mr Tan.
In the first quarter of 2026, SNEF engaged more than 420 companies to help diagnose their business needs, redesign jobs and workflows, and integrate AI into their processes.
Calling the council's formation timely, Mr Tan said: "We need both speed and alignment to help employers seize new opportunities arising from AI while building a workforce that is AI-ready."
More details on its composition and plans will be announced in the coming months.
Related:
ADDRESSING AI ANXIETIES
At the briefing, the tripartite leaders also addressed uncertainties they have heard from workers and businesses about AI's impact on industries and jobs.
Mr Ng added: "There is always a delta, sometimes very big, between anxiety of what we think AI will do versus some of the statistics that we have gotten.
"So we recognise the anxiety, but we also want to put these anxieties or concerns into positive action, where PMEs not only recognise the need to upskill, but will take proactive action."
The labour chief spoke of the recognition of AI's impact on doctors and accountants, based on conversations with them during his visits to various businesses. To address this impact, these professionals want to pick up new skills.
He also acknowledged youths who have the "growing perception that skills and academic qualifications no longer guarantee the first job, or even early career progression".
NTUC has also engaged senior workers who similarly expressed concerns about job security, he said.
Dr Tan said one of the council's aims is to look at the fractionalisation of work, as AI is expected to reorganise jobs in a way that affects the broad base of mid-career workers.
The council hopes to look at how to help caregivers return to the workforce and mature workers to carry on working if they want to.
Another focus is to ensure that the "onboarding" process for youths joining the workforce becomes more serious and seamless, such as through curated industrial attachments, said Dr Tan.
Speaking of workers in general, he said: "There are valid concerns about job security, the relevance of their skills. They worry about obsolescence, as well as the rapid, accelerating pace of change."
Singapore has always turned adversity into opportunity, said Dr Tan, who is also Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology.
"Our resilience to past economic and technological shifts – from the national computerisation drive in the 1980s to the skills programme for upgrading and resilience in the early 2000s – shows our adaptability.
"Now as we face the age of AI, we will draw upon that same collective strength once again," he said.
Related:
SUBSIDISED AI TOOLS
NTUC also released details of its plan to subsidise up to half the subscription costs of premium AI tools for NTUC members.
This was announced as part of the labour movement's AI-Ready SG initiative in February, and comes on top of the government providing six months' free access to premium AI tools for Singaporeans enrolled in selected SkillsFuture courses.
There are 21 eligible AI tools, namely: Adobe Firefly, Blackbox AI, Canva, CapCut, ChatGPT, Claude, Copy.ai, ElevenLabs, Github Copilot, Google AI, Jasper AI, Kimi, Leonardo.Ai, Manus, Midjourney, Notion AI, Otter AI, Perplexity, Replit, Studley AI and Suno.
From May 1, 2026, to Apr 30, 2028, NTUC members can subscribe to the AI tools using their benefits under the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP), which is meant for defraying training costs.
UTAP provides course fee support of up to S$250 (US$195) each year for union members. The ceiling doubles to S$500 for members aged 40 and above, while younger members aged 18 to 25 can get up to S$200 in support.
The members must have completed at least one UTAP-approved AI course in the year prior, although the AI tool they subscribe to does not have to be related to the course they attended.
The list of eligible AI tools will be reviewed regularly to ensure relevance.
"These tools will help workers with productivity, content creation, writing, software development and digital marketing," said Mr Ng.
"Through this, we hope to improve workers of all collars, give them some levels of confidence to harness AI in their work and strengthen longer-term employment."
Mr Ng also provided an update on AI training and mentorship initiatives under AI-Ready SG.
Over 4,000 workers have enrolled in AI courses on NTUC LearningHub
Continue reading...