Tech industry observers share comments on people and risk aspects of the FY2026 Singapore Budget:
People
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| Source: Budget Booklet. Illustration for building a strong, resilient workforce. |
"Budget 2026 delivers a timely and forward-looking boost to Singapore’s workforce. The government’s commitment to inclusive growth is clear with the strengthened support for career transitions, expanded upskilling pathways, and renewed focus on helping mid-career and older workers stay competitive.
"These measures will help Singaporeans confidently navigate rapid technological shifts with a focus on AI and accelerated automation while ensuring businesses continue to access a resilient, future-ready talent pool."
- Barbara Kinle, Partner, Personal Tax & Global Mobility Services, Tax, KPMG in Singapore
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"The
new national AI measures will be critical in scaling enterprise AI
readiness and strengthening Singapore’s competitive workforce.
Developing a sustainable, AI-augmented talent pipeline is essential to
realising the vision of the Budget.
"To truly build an
AI-ready workforce, organisations must go beyond isolated use cases and
embed an AI-first mindset at scale. At FPT, this mindset is a core
pillar of our organisational AI strategy. We encourage teams in
Singapore and across our global operations to approach problem-solving
in partnership with AI, integrating it into everyday decision-making and
delivery.
"This requires a strong emphasis on critical thinking
and evaluation frameworks, ensuring employees understand when and how to
apply AI responsibly and effectively to unlock its full value from the
outset."
- David Nguyen, FPT Software Senior VP, FPT Asia Pacific CEO, FPT Corporation
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"For
businesses, this means reimagining every aspect of work, from the
technology that delivers workplace infrastructure and security, to
building teams with the right skills and fostering a culture grounded in
an AI-first mindset. For Cisco, this often means empowering teams to
leverage internal AI tools for greater productivity, investing in
AI-driven solutions and learning opportunities, and encouraging
experimentation through tailored training programmes.
"Supporting
workers at every stage of their careers is essential to closing the
skills gap and building a future-ready workforce for Singapore.
Initiatives like the Cisco Networking Academy, which has trained over
110,000 students in Singapore in cybersecurity and AI continue to play a
vital role in this effort."
- Bee Kheng Tay, President of Cisco ASEAN
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"It’s encouraging to see the government putting more emphasis on helping both businesses and workers make a smoother transition into an AI‑enabled economy. A recent Deel‑commissioned research from IDC shows that around nine in 10 organisations, including in Singapore, have already changed or displaced roles due to AI, with about one‑third undergoing significant restructuring. Therefore, this support is arriving at a critical moment.
"For employers, the next step is not just adopting new tools, but redesigning roles so junior staff spend less time on repetitive work and more on problem‑solving, collaboration and learning that builds future leaders. For mid‑career workers, the real unlock will be support that links AI training to specific role changes, internal mobility and clearer progression, rather than treating 'upskilling' as an abstract requirement.
"When policy support
and company practices move in tandem, Singapore can strengthen its
leadership pipeline while enabling workers at every career stage to
transition into higher-value, AI-complementary roles."
- Karen Ng, Regional Head of Expansion - Enterprise - North and South Asia, Deel
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"Artificial
intelligence is becoming a key driver of Singapore’s digital economy,
but adoption alone does not guarantee productivity gains. Without
thoughtful job redesign and practical, role-relevant training, the
transition to AI risks widening skills gaps and undermining long-term
talent development.
"ADP’s People at Work 2025 research
shows that uncertainty about AI’s impact remains significant in
Singapore. Around one in five workers are unsure how AI will affect
their jobs. This uncertainty is most pronounced among knowledge workers
(26%) and younger workers aged 18–26 (23%), compared with just 9% among
those aged 55–64. These findings point to uneven confidence across the
workforce as roles continue to evolve."
People: manufacturing
"As Budget 2026 highlights
the importance of workforce readiness and productivity, many
organisations are coming to terms with the fact that technology and AI
are becoming increasingly embedded in engineering and manufacturing
workflows. The question for businesses is no longer whether these tools
will be used, but how they are introduced in ways that support people
and existing ways of working.
"Across industries, roles are
evolving as products and production systems become more complex and
software-driven. At the same time, companies are navigating workforce
transitions as experienced employees move on and new talent enters with
different skill sets.
"In Singapore’s tight labour market, this
transition is often less about expanding headcount and more about
helping existing teams work effectively across more complex,
software-driven environments. Digitalisation helps address this
challenge by making knowledge more accessible, improving collaboration
across teams, and reducing time spent on manual or repetitive tasks.
"AI
embedded within engineering and manufacturing software can help teams
work more efficiently by providing decision support, surfacing potential
issues earlier, and helping users navigate increasingly complex
systems. Importantly, these capabilities deliver the most value when
paired with clear training, transparency, and human oversight, ensuring
that people understand both the benefits and the limitations of the
technology.
"In 2026, building a future-ready workforce will
depend on how well organisations help their people adapt to technology
that is already becoming part of day-to-day work, while ensuring it is
used responsibly to lift productivity and long-term competitiveness."
- Alex Teo, VP & MD of Southeast Asia, Siemens Digital Industries Software
People: AI skills
"The redesign of SkillsFuture pathways for clearer AI learning is a major win. Empowering non-technical leaders and frontline staff with AI literacy creates a diverse talent pool that understands where AI solves real-world business problems. This resonates with our belief that AI is a strategic imperative, requiring broad adoption to unlock its potential and scale."
- Jornt Moerland, Senior VP APAC, Siemens Data & AI
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"The acknowledgement of workers’ anxieties due to AI transformation is reassuring. A redesigned SkillsFuture site that makes AI courses easier to access, as well as a free six-month subscription to premium AI tools after the training, is a good start. This new design will be very important and, beyond being simple to use, should ideally include an element of personalisation to guide the worker in his/her personal AI upskilling journey."- Kwek So Cheer, Digital Solutions Partner, PwC Singapore
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"The
focus on AI skills shows the government is committed to keeping people
at the heart of progress. AI is fundamentally reshaping how work gets
done. This means that every role, every industry and every company must
be redesigned for a new era of human-AI collaboration.
"The emphasis on strengthening AI literacy for students, and supporting the workforce with AI use at work is a good start. But more than that, our workforce needs AI fluency – the ability to confidently collaborate with AI and drive business impact at speed and scale – to thrive in this new AI era. Whether it’s through the clearer AI-learning pathways in SkillsFuture or Trailhead, Salesforce’s free training platform, the goal is the same: making sure Singaporeans are empowered by AI. Singapore possesses the inherent talent advantage required to capture the AI opportunity. Those who can best augment their skills with AI will be the ones who secure their career longevity."
- Paul Carvouni, Senior VP & GM, Salesforce ASEAN
Risk
"The 2026 Budget reinforces
the importance of building long-term resilience to supply chain
disruption, and third-party risk sits at the centre of that challenge.
As supply chains digitise and interconnect, managing the broad spectrum
of third-party risks across legal, financial, geopolitical and cyber
domains has become a defining capability.
"As one of Asia’s leading technology and innovation hubs, Singapore has set a high bar. BlueVoyant research shows
that 60% of Singapore organisations now report established or optimised
third-party risk management (TPRM) programmes, higher than the US.
"Yet
maturity does not equate to immunity. Despite strong TPRM capabilities,
93% of Singapore organisations experienced negative impacts from a
supply chain-related cyber incident, up sharply from 70% in 2024. This
rise reflects not only an increase in attack volume, but also greater
visibility into risk as monitoring improves. It underscores a critical
reality, when even advanced organisations remain exposed in a highly
interconnected ecosystem."
- Shilu Pushpan, Country Manager, Singapore, BlueVoyant
Explore
Read the post about the Budget Statement
Industry reactions on the AI strategy are at https://www.techtradeasia.com/2026/02/singapores-fy2026-budget-tech-industry.html
Check out KPMG's strategic paper on the Budget announcements, Gain clarity in uncertainty: The KPMG Clarity Brief, at https://kpmg.com/sg/en/campaigns/kpmg-singapore-budget.html
Hashtags: #SGBudget2026, #SingaporeBudget, #Budget2026
*SME stands for small and medium-sized enterprise.
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