NTUC members to receive up to 50% subsidy on AI tools, training tailored to their skill levels
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The funding support will be rolled out in the first half of 2026, while new AI training pathways will be ready in the first quarter of 2026.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
SINGAPORE - NTUC members are set to benefit from a new initiative aimed at enabling workers and firms to thrive in an AI-enabled future.
AI-Ready SG, which was launched at the NTUC career festival on Feb 13, will allow NTUC members to receive up to 50 per cent off subscription costs for eligible artificial intelligence tools that can support tasks like content creation and writing. The funding support, which will incorporate training, will be rolled out in the first half of 2026 and piloted for two years.
The initiative will also offer AI training pathways, which refer to a set of curricula catered to workers’ skill level, job and sector. It aims to provide workers with a clear starting point and direction to build their AI-related skills, said NTUC in a statement. It will be ready in the first quarter of 2026.
NTUC has over 1.4 million members as at April 2025
The labour movement said the training pathways are based on skills gaps identified through on-the-ground engagement with employers, industry partners and business leaders.
Examples of the pathways include a foundation curriculum to help workers who have just started on their upskilling journey build essential AI skills, and job-specific curriculum to help workers whose roles are most impacted by AI to enhance work effectiveness.
At the festival, NTUC also launched sectoral AI playbooks, with the first three focusing on the electronics, marine and engineering sector; hospitality and consumer business sector; and essential domestic services sector.
Beyond that, the new NTUC LearningHub Career Mentorship Programme was launched to help connect professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) with mentors through an “AI-enabled match-scoring system”. It will match mentees with mentors aligned with their career needs, said NTUC.
“The AI-Ready SG initiative has a commitment to walk alongside our workers, support them through the change, and ensure a fair and just transition for them in an AI-powered future,” said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng at the festival on Feb 13.
He noted that the initiative will be a one-stop platform that aims to equip workers with AI-related skills to support companies with business transformation, job redesign and job matching.
NTUC said that the number of AI-related Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant projects that companies embarked on in 2025 is more than double that for 2024. The grant co-funds up to 70 per cent of qualifying costs for companies’ transformation projects. More than 13,000 workers are set to benefit from the NTUC CTC Grant through salary increases, skills allowances and structured career pathways.
The new initiative to strengthen AI readiness in the workforce follows Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget speech on Feb 12, in which he had described AI as a strategic advantage for Singapore set up a National AI Council
Over 5,000 job opportunities are also on offer at the two-day career fair by NTUC. The career festival, which ends on Feb 14, is being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
At the event, NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) signed a memorandum of understanding with institutes of higher learning National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute of Technology.
Chief executive of e2i Caryn Lim said the MOU allows the national career centre to start earlier in supporting youth on their career journey.
“This two-way bridge also enables us to better support employers by translating rapidly evolving business and skill requirements to our emerging workforce sooner, for better and stronger job matches for our workers,” she added.
People queueing up for career fair registration during the NTUC Career Festival at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Feb 13.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
e2i also signed another MOU with Yayasan Mendaki to strengthen employability and AI readiness for the Malay/Muslim community.
Said Mr Ng: “Even as we speak now, job insecurities among our workers, including the professionals, managers and executives, have heightened.”
He noted that according to NTUC’s Survey on Economic Sentiments, which studied 2,000 workers in 2025, job security is the top concern for one in five respondents.
He cited one of the “most egregious stories” he has heard, where the Commonwealth Bank in Australia fired a PME staff member after she had helped to train the company’s AI system. “We must find win-win situations where both the businesses can benefit from AI, and fellow workers can make a better living,” he said.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng speaking during the NTUC Career Festival at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Feb 13.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Mr Kenneth Soh, 55, was at the career fair to explore new job opportunities, including training-related roles and potential career switches into sectors such as healthcare or fitness. He was retrenched in November 2025 after spending over 15 years as a corporate trainer and operations manager across the food and beverage, retail and education sectors.
“The job market right now, when it comes to AI, is very volatile. So there’s a lot of transition that a job seeker or an individual has to overcome,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Vijayendran Vatatheeswan, 30, is at the career festival to find new opportunities in Singapore. He is a project engineer currently working overseas.
“I get to talk with the recruiters and find out how I can fine-tune my resume. I think that gives a better, broader approach to finding a job.”
