Up to $500 in subsidies for AI tools yearly for NTUC members
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There are 21 AI tools eligible for subsidies under this programme, including ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot and Midjourney.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE - Starting in May, subscriptions to more than 20 popular artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Github Copilot will be subsidised by up to 50 per cent for members of trade union NTUC.
The subsidies, under the Union Training Assistance Programme, are capped at $250 yearly for members under the age of 40, and up to $500 yearly for those aged 40 and above.
“The initiative lowers cost barriers to accessing technology and complements NTUC’s ongoing efforts to equip workers to be AI-ready,” said the National Trades Union Congress on April 30 in a joint statement with the Ministry of Manpower and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).
There are 21 AI tools eligible for subsidies under this programme, which can help enhance productivity and support work functions such as content creation, writing, software development, and marketing.
The list comprises 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.
“The list of eligible AI tools will be reviewed regularly to ensure relevance to members,” said NTUC.
The subsidised subscriptions, which will be available till April 2028, come under the AI-Ready SG initiative that NTUC launched in February.
It complements the Government’s initiative to give six months of free access to premium AI tools to Singaporean workers aged 25 and above who take up selected SkillsFuture AI courses.
Discussions are under way with providers such as Google, Manus, Microsoft and OpenAI, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during the debate on the ministry’s budget in March.
Though both subscriptions cannot be used concurrently, they can be used consecutively.
On April 30, a new Tripartite Jobs Council was also announced.
Dr Tan, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng and SNEF president Tan Hee Teck will co-chair the new council. It aims to coordinate national efforts to upskill workers and help firms redesign jobs and adopt new tools amid an AI disruption that threatens to widen skills gaps.
The new council aims to build on existing programmes that have been set up by the tripartite partners, coordinate efforts as a centralised node, and deepen their reach to more workers and firms in every sector.
Existing programmes include the $400 million Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. It includes the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+), which provides funds of up to $150,000 of each company’s job redesign projects, including consultancy fees and worker reskilling costs.
Firms must pick from a pre-approved list of consultants, which include Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young Advisory, KPMG Services and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation.
As part of the Government’s efforts to help Singaporeans build AI literacy and fluency, SkillsFuture Singapore will also be launching a self-diagnostic tool to help workers assess their level of AI readiness. The agency will then curate courses according to workers’ AI-readiness levels, and highlight those with proven training outcomes and employer demand.
