Rising AI Automation Concerns Over Job Losses and Long-Term Livelihood and Job Preservation Measures for Singaporeans

19 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Manpower what assessment the Government has made of rising concerns over job losses in the labour market amid rising AI-driven automation across a range of sectors and what plans are being considered to preserve jobs and livelihoods in the long-run for Singaporeans.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Government is paying close attention to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs. So far, Singapore's labour market remains resilient amid concerns over AI-driven job losses. Resident employment growth in 2025 was stronger than in 2024 and unemployment and retrenchment rates in 2025 remained low at 2.8% and 1.5 retrenched per 1,000 employees respectively.

The Government is preparing our workforce for the impact of AI, which is advancing at a remarkable speed and will transform existing roles. We cannot resist this change, but we will go through this with Singaporeans. Our strategy rests on three key pillars.

First, we work closely with employers and unions to promote responsible AI adoption and help them harness AI to create better and higher-value jobs. The Government has set aside over $400 million for the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (EWTP) to help businesses undertake workforce transformation in tandem with enterprise transformation. Through the EWTP, companies can receive funding support to redesign job roles, reskill workers and adopt AI-powered technology solutions. Such measures support enterprises to create good jobs and help workers transit to new jobs, even as old jobs are transformed.

Second, we will equip workers with the skills to work with and alongside AI at different levels. For students, the Ministry of Education is refreshing the core curricula of our Institutes of Higher Learning to ensure graduates are equipped with practical skills for harnessing and complementing AI at the workplace. For the broader workforce, SkillsFuture Singapore will make AI learning pathways easier to navigate, so that working adults can quickly find courses that that match their needs and proficiency levels to meet desired employment outcomes. We will also empower all Singaporeans to use and experiment with AI tools regularly. We will offer Singaporeans who take up selected AI training courses six months of free access to premium AI tools.

Finally, we are strengthening our ecosystem and infrastructure for supporting career transitions. As announced in Budget 2026, SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore will be merged into a new statutory board. This is a decisive step forward to empower Singaporeans to proactively plan for and navigate career transitions. The new agency will provide more seamless support for Singaporeans for career guidance, skills training and job matching and will also work more closely with employers to reskill and upskill their employees for growth roles and career progression within companies. In line with this, we have also been expanding programmes, like Workforce Singapore's Career Conversion Programmes and career coaching services, to help more workers transition into growth sectors and stay adaptable in a changing labour market.

While the impact of AI on jobs will change as the technology evolves, we will support both employers and workers to adapt and stay nimble.