Singaporeans urged to become ‘bilingual’ AI talent to thrive in digital economy

SINGAPORE – Becoming “fluent” in artificial intelligence (AI) will make Singaporean workers highly valued, as well as benefit firms of all sizes in the Republic.

Likening AI to a new “national language”, and workers’ main skills and domain knowledge to a “mother tongue” they have already mastered, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said that Singapore needs more “bilingual” AI talent. 

“We believe that such bilingual AI talents will be highly valued, and building them up represents a real opportunity for Singapore. They will be pathfinders and pace-setters for meaningful AI adoption everywhere,” Mrs Teo said on Aug 29.

She was speaking as guest of honour at the Tech3 Forum 2025, which was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore hotel.

This push for more Singaporeans to become adept at AI – even those who are working in non-tech roles – comes amid a growing digital economy that is increasingly powered by it. 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

said in his recent National Day Rally speech

that AI is a game changer that will benefit every company big or small. The Government will help all enterprises harness AI effectively and ensure citizens have jobs. 

To nurture AI fluency among Singaporeans, Mrs Teo said the Government will help enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, adopt AI-enabled solutions and train more bilingual AI talent in their companies. 

Mrs Teo pointed out that AI-trained practitioners need the input of their colleagues in other departments to deploy tech solutions with meaningful business outcomes. 

For example, the AI team at accounting firm PwC worked closely with tax agents to understand the pain points of the tax filing process to develop a tool to enhance overall effectiveness and accuracy. 

To help non-tech professionals gain AI fluency, the Government will work through TechSkills Accelerator (TeSa), a flagship training initiative for digital skills that has trained 340,000 individuals since its launch in 2016.

Under TeSa, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will partner professional bodies in functions like accounting and marketing to understand the core activities that can be optimised with the help of AI.

“It is also important that we do this with a growth mindset. Our desired outcome must be to grow these professionals’ value rather than to diminish their contributions. This means actively seeking out new services they can provide with the help of AI,” said Mrs Teo.

She said financial forensics professionals traditionally investigate cases of fraud, but with AI, they can address more complex issues and even prevent fraud altogether.

Their expertise in digital forensics could also open doors to new roles such as ethical hacking.

Other than upskilling non-tech workers, the tech workforce – which has expanded to 214,000 in 2024 – will also benefit from becoming more fluent in AI. 

To that end, IMDA is working with industry partners to roll out two separate training programmes for aspiring cloud professionals. 

Mr Edward Chen, vice-president at the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), said that cloud talent will be increasingly in demand as the technology is the underlying engine that powers AI. 

“In technical and non-technical industries, the underlying cloud demand will grow significantly. We are not talking just in terms of big names and vendors like Microsoft, Google and Amazon. Enterprises themselves will also need to build their own cloud infrastructure to support their own digitalisation and AI implementation,” he said. 

One of the new programmes is Skills Pathway for Cloud, which is developed by SCS in collaboration with IMDA and SkillsFuture Singapore. 

SCS worked with 14 organisations, among them DBS Bank, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and ST Engineering, to identify relevant certifications that will prepare new entrants and those making mid-career switches for four entry-level roles in the cloud sector.

The programme is structured into two levels, and those who complete requirements for the first level can be considered for possible internship opportunities with the 14 organisations. Those who complete requirements for the second level could be considered for full-time job opportunities. 

A similar Skills Pathway initiative for cyber security launched in July 2024 saw 180 individuals securing internships or jobs.

Mr Chen, who is also chairman of SCS Skills Pathway, said that the society is proud to shape talent development strategies that are aligned with real workforce needs. 

“Most importantly, we are able to help more Singaporeans to secure quality jobs and address the sector’s skills gap,” he added. 

The second new programme for cloud-professionals-to-be rolled out at the event is the AWS Career Launchpad with Trainocate. The initiative, which is designed by training provider Trainocate and cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), is set to benefit 100 people till 2027. 

Participants will undergo a six- to 12-month programme with companies from AWS Partner Network, including system integrators, software vendors and managed service providers. 

They will be placed on the solution architect, software developer or AI/machine learning engineer track, and obtain relevant certifications. 

Certifications earned through this programme can be used towards academic recognition under the Singapore Institute of Technology’s Competency-based Stackable Micro-credential Pathway, potentially counting towards a bachelor’s degree.