The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and KPMG announced a Singapore workforce-transformation programme on Oct. 22, 2026, to help companies adopt AI and redesign jobs. The partners signed a memorandum of understanding that day, The Business Times reported. Companies could apply to the programme, called Jumpstart Your Workforce Transformation, from Oct. 22, The Straits Times reported.
KPMG Singapore managing partner Lee Sze Yeng told The Straits Times that KPMG would help companies break down job roles and tasks, identify where technology makes sense and work out how employees can fill skills gaps. NTUC LearningHub and KPMG also plan to develop six AI courses, including applications in sustainability and finance. The Business Times reported that the collaboration had already produced two separate one-day courses on leading AI transformation.
Funding comes with eligibility rules
Companies can use the NTUC Company Training Committee Grant and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package at different stages, but each grant has its own eligibility criteria, The Straits Times reported. According to The Business Times, the first grant co-funds up to 70% of qualifying training and project costs. Under the second, small and medium-sized enterprises can receive up to 70% co-funding and larger companies up to 50%, capped at S$150,000 per enterprise.
The announcement came as NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng warned that structural workforce gaps were emerging even while Singapore’s economy was doing relatively well. The Straits Times reported that retrenchments reached 4,620 in the second quarter of 2026; Ng suggested AI-related restructuring was one possible factor among many. He said the labour movement wanted to ensure AI adoption did not lead to “jobless growth.”
