Budget 2026 underscores that the Government will work with NTUC and its unions to ensure that no one faces the transition alone, with NTUC launching AI-Ready SG under its Job Security Council to help workers thrive in an AI future.
If you have used AI to draft an email, summarise meeting notes or generate ideas, you have already felt it. Work is changing.
For some, that feels empowering. For others, it feels unsettling. If a tool can write, calculate, analyse and respond in seconds, where does that leave the worker?
At the National Day Rally last year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong addressed this anxiety directly. Technology will reshape industries, but workers remain the core of Singapore’s economy. This message was reinforced again in Budget 2026, where he signalled further support to help workers adapt to structural changes driven by AI and global uncertainty.
The direction is clear. Singapore will move forward with AI, and it will do so with workers at the centre.
The Fear Is Real
Fresh graduates wonder whether entry-level roles will shrink. Mid-career professionals worry their skills may lose relevance. Some workers quietly ask themselves if they will still be needed in five years.
But jobs are not just a collection of tasks. They involve judgment, relationships, responsibility and trust. Throughout history, technology has replaced certain tasks while creating new ones.
For example, when computers entered offices, some clerical roles declined. But new digital, technical and managerial roles grew. When automation entered manufacturing, workers shifted into supervisory and technical positions.
AI is another wave of change. It will remove some routine work, yet it will also create demand for new skills, new roles and new ways of working. The question is not whether change will happen. It is whether workers will be prepared for it.
What Budget 2026 Signals for Workers
In Budget 2026, PM Wong emphasised strengthening support for workers navigating structural shifts. The focus is not only on economic growth, but on ensuring people can move with the economy.
One significant announcement is that the Government will provide six months of free access to premium AI tools to Singaporeans who take up selected AI training courses.
Besides the enhanced support for reskilling, there will be better career matching mechanisms and stronger transition assistance for those affected by industry changes. The message is that adaptation should not be an individual struggle. It is a shared national effort.
This approach builds on Singapore’s tripartite model. Government provides direction and funding. Employers invest in transformation. Unions advocate for workers and ensure productivity gains translate into better outcomes, not displacement.
NTUC’s Next Step: AI-Ready SG
At the NTUC Career Festival 2026, this commitment moved from policy to action with the launch of AI-Ready SG, an initiative under the NTUC Job Security Council.
AI-Ready SG brings together training, career support and company partnerships under three areas: building better workers, enabling better matching of jobs and creating better jobs through responsible transformation and adoption of AI.
- For workers, this means structured AI training pathways. Some courses introduce foundational knowledge for those new to AI. Others are sector-specific, helping workers apply AI tools directly in marketing, logistics, finance or operations. There are masterclasses and showcases that focus on practical use cases, not theory.
- For jobseekers, e2i provides career coaching, AI-powered career guidance and job matching services that connect AI-ready talent to emerging roles.
- For NTUC members, NTUC will provide up to 50% of subscription costs for eligible AI tools, a first-of-its-kind subsidy that will be piloted for two years, complemented by AI training pathways and NTUC LearningHub Career Mentorship Programme.
- For companies, NTUC supports job redesign through Company Training Committees. Instead of replacing workers when adopting new technology, firms are encouraged to redesign roles and retrain staff.
Beyond 5,000 job listings available at the career festival, there are spaces like the Career Mentorship Hub and Career Xchange Lounge, where participants can reflect on their skills, explore AI-powered tools and think through their next career step.
Two MOU signings at the career festival also signals greater commitment to support fresh graduates and the Malay/Muslim community. Firstly, e2i and Institutes of Higher Learning will strengthen career readiness for fresh graduates through structured job matching, industry exposure and employability workshops.
Another e2i partnership with Yayasan MENDAKI will offer curated AI workshops, career advisory support and job opportunities for the Malay/Muslim community under the “Langkah Digital” initiative. Together, these moves aim to ensure that AI transformation remains inclusive and practical, giving workers clearer pathways forward with meaningful and sustainable career progression.
So What Should Workers Do Now?
First, see AI as a tool. If you work in marketing, experiment with AI for idea generation or analytics. If you are in operations, explore predictive tools for planning. If you are in HR, use automation to reduce paperwork and spend more time on people strategy.
Second, strengthen human skills. Communication, critical thinking, empathy, leadership and ethical judgment will anchor the AI economy. These qualities cannot be automated.
Third, treat learning as ongoing and not a one-off matter. A short course, a workshop, or even self-directed exploration can compound over time.
Finally, stay connected with mentorship, career coaching and acquiring new hybrid skill sets, such as combining business knowledge with AI tools, or pairing technical skills with communication strengths.
To find out more about how to translate support into practical help on the ground, NTUC is holding the NTUC Career Festival from 13 – 14 February.
NTUC Career Festival 2026: AI-READY SG
📍 Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Halls A & B
🗓 13 to 14 February 2026
