Budget 2026: SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore to merge into new statutory board

SINGAPORE - Workforce Singapore (WSG) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will be merged into a new statutory board overseeing both jobs and skills, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

This move, announced in

PM Wong’s Budget speech on Feb 12

, aims to create a more integrated ecosystem for jobs and skills, and one that can better respond as the economy faces rapid structural shifts.

The new agency will be jointly overseen by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Education (MOE). The name of the agency or the date of its launch, among other details, have yet to be announced.

“In an era of faster technological change and more frequent job transitions, stronger alignment is needed, and our systems must work more seamlessly together,” said PM Wong.

The

Economic Strategy Review committee had recommended

a review of the way jobs and skills support is organised for Singaporeans, he said, adding that the Government has studied this carefully and will take a “decisive step forward” to merge WSG and SSG.

This new agency will be a “one-stop shop” for skills training, career guidance and job matching services, he added.

“For workers and job seekers, that means support will be more seamless, from career planning, to skills acquisitions, job matching and transitions,” said PM Wong, while employers will get more integrated support that covers workforce planning, job redesign, hiring and workforce development.

More details will be shared during the debate on each ministry’s budget, said PM Wong.

In a joint statement, MOE and MOM said: “This merger will strengthen the integration of Singapore’s job-skills ecosystem.”

“A single agency overseeing jobs and skills will also allow us to respond faster and more effectively to changes in a fast-evolving economy and labour market,” the statement added.

This new agency will be better positioned to align skills with job needs, and provide more seamless end-to-end career and employment services for Singaporean workers, the statement said.

Singaporeans can continue to access all existing services from both WSG and SSG without disruptions, until the new agency is ready to take over these functions.

This move consolidates the work by both agencies over the last decade.

WSG, formerly the Workforce Development Agency, was formed in 2016 alongside SSG. The Workforce Development Agency started the SkillsFuture movement a year before in 2015.

Then, the two statutory boards were formed with different areas of focus – SSG to coordinate the push for skills development and mastery, and WSG on jobs and enterprises.

To date, WSG provides career coaching, organises job fairs, and runs the MyCareersFuture job portal. Its signature Career Conversion Programmes help mid-career switchers move into new industries by providing salary support while they train on the job.

SSG supports lifelong learning among Singaporeans, providing SkillsFuture credits, and managing private education and training providers. One signature programme is the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, which was launched in 2024 to help mid-career workers upskill.

The merger is more than an organisational change, said PM Wong, but one that strengthens the system of lifelong learning and career support for Singaporeans to continue to adapt, grow and realise their full potential.

“In a world where change is constant, we must remain a society that never stops learning and never stops striving to do better.”

The training landscape, in the past decade, he said, has shifted its focus from pre-employment training to embedding lifelong learning across the whole education system. 

“Today, we have achieved this objective,” he said, adding that adults at various stages of their career can access various high-quality training options across institutes of higher learning (IHLs). 

These include Singapore’s autonomous universities, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education, he added. 

The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, for example, offer flexible pathways for alumni and adult learners to take modular courses, earn credits and stack them to become recognised qualifications, said PM Wong. 

More than 600,000 Singaporeans have taken up SkillsFuture training as well, he added.

Earlier, on Feb 9, SSG said 606,000 Singaporeans

took up training in 2025

, boosted by the Dec 31, 2025, expiry of a one-off credit top-up.

Some 123,000 individuals enrolled in training courses with direct impact on employability, the agency added. These courses include full-qualification programmes, stackable courses and the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, which helps mid-career individuals pivot to in-demand sectors.

This trend was also supported by the introduction of the

SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance in 2025

, SSG said. Some 5,300 recipients received this allowance for eligible full-time long-form training.

This allowance provides Singaporeans aged 40 and above with 50 per cent of their salary, up to $3,000, and from March, will be extended to eligible part-time training courses.

Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, noted that the move to merge WSG and SSG follows years of industry and job transformation support.

“The jobs and skills nexus is now even more important and crucial to ensure speed to market, and to meet the speed of change, disruption, and prepare for curveballs as well as skills and jobs obsolescence,” he said.

IHLs have also matured as hubs for adult education, he added.

Tightening the connection between employment and employability will support workers and Singaporeans better, and is essential to meeting industry needs and equipping workers for jobs, Mr Tay said.

Ultimately, the litmus test for the new agency will be its impact on employment, he said. “Good indicators of success will be better employment and employability outcomes.”

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