Major Push to Upskill 40,000 Tech Professionals over the Next Three Years and Grow the Next-Generation of Tech Leaders as IMDA Doubles Down on AI Readiness

1. Under the National AI Impact Programme (NAIIP), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will expand the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA)¹ to upskill 40,000 tech professionals, including final-year Information and Digital Technologies (IDT) students, over the next three years. Through strategic collaborations with industry partners, AI fluency programmes will be developed to help tech professionals stay current with rapid advances in AI. IMDA will co-lead a workgroup with Workforce Singapore (WSG)², in partnership with the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), SGTech, and the Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB), an affiliate of the NTUC, to ensure these programmes remain responsive to how AI is reshaping the industry and evolving tech roles. IMDA also welcomes 21 new SG Digital Leaders (SGDLs), expanding its tech leadership community to over 1,600, who are driving AI fluency from within and on the global stage.

2. Together, these initiatives will help build the skilled tech workforce needed to support Singapore’s digital economy ambitions while nurturing both current and future generations of tech leaders. They will complement earlier NAIIP efforts to train 100,000 non-tech professionals to be AI bilingual by 2029, announced at the Committee of Supply (COS) 2026.

New AI Fluency Programme to Strengthen Tech Capabilities

3. IMDA and AI Singapore (AISG) are launching AIxTech, an AI fluency programme designed to deepen the tech capabilities of tech professionals by equipping them with technical and responsible AI skills throughout the software engineering lifecycle, such as automating software engineering tasks with AI, context and harnessing engineering skills, and implementing agentic systems in multi-agent teams.

4. Developed in collaboration with over 30 leading tech firms, AI Centres of Excellence, government agencies, and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), the AIxTech curriculum has been rigorously refined to ensure a strong learning experience. The programme has already generated significant traction, with organisations across tech (e.g. NCS and ST Engineering) and non-tech sectors (e.g. OCBC and Standard Chartered) expressing interest to enrol their employees. This early response reflects its alignment with real business needs and as organisations continue to strengthen AI capabilities in an increasing AI-driven economy. 

Structured Learning that Keeps Pace with AI Developments

5. AIxTech will provide training with access to a portfolio of leading AI coding solutions (e.g. Claude, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Kiro, GLM (General Language Model), Agnes), which will be regularly reviewed and refreshed to keep pace with industry changes. It will be a dynamic programme with two phases:

a. Phase 1 will comprise 10 self-paced online modules (18 hours) with hands-on coding workflow training, learner support by AISG and community, allowing trainees to upskill without disrupting their work or studies. This is designed to allow enterprises to send en- masse their tech employees for upskilling.

b. Phase 2 will be in the form of post-course support with (i) S$600 credit for continued AI coding solution access; (ii) community-centric support through a virtual platform offering e-resources for continued learning and best-practice engineering playbook, alongside physical meetups / sessions where seasoned practitioners share case studies to help solve business problems across sectors; and (iii) advanced modules, which may also become foundational modules in Phase 1 over time.

6. Trainees will also be exposed to responsible AI development, which will include IMDA AI Verify Foundation’s³ governance principles, frameworks, and testing toolkits in traditional, generative and agentic AI. In addition, trainees can seek assistance from AISG trainers by posting questions to the community, submitting queries via a central ticketing system to a dedicated trainer, or attending in- person clinic sessions for face-to-face guidance.

7. The course fee is S$180 for tech professionals who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents. Self-sponsored individuals can offset course fees for AIxTech using SkillsFuture Credit and the NTUC Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP)⁴, administered by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute). Final-year IDT students who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents can attend AIxTech for free. Interested participants can access the website at: https://aisingapore.org/aixtech/

Engaging the Tech Industry to Build a Future-Ready Workforce

8. AIxTech, and the recently announced TIP Alliance+⁵, are the first steps in a broader government effort to build an AI fluent tech workforce in partnership with the tech community. Co- led by IMDA and WSG, the workgroup to study the future of tech work will engage members and networks from partners SCS, SGTech, and TTAB. The insights will help the workgroup understand how tech teams, jobs, and skills are changing, and ensure its recommendations remain relevant to the needs of the tech professionals. They will also shape future initiatives to build the AI fluent tech workforce Singapore needs to power its digital economy ambitions.  

1,600-Strong Community of Singapore Tech Leaders

9. IMDA’s Singapore Digital Leadership Accelerator (SGDLA) develops a pipeline of tech leaders⁶ within Singapore’s digital ecosystem. Its community, including SGDLs, has doubled to over 1,600 since its launch in 2022.

10. This year, 21 new SGDLs join at a pivotal moment, with many at the forefront of AI and frontier tech. Among them, Shanice Choo from Clifford Chance is driving AI-powered innovation in the legal sector, while Lum Chune Yang from SpeQtral is building quantum and satellite infrastructure to safeguard critical networks against emerging cybersecurity threats. Together, they exemplify the breadth of impact SGDLs are making across industries and frontier tech domains.

11. Through SGDLA, tech leaders at every career stage receive targeted support, from C-suite preparation and mentorship by global tech executives for senior leaders, to business development networks for founders and entrepreneurs, strengthening Singapore’s position as a leading digital hub in the region.

12. The initiatives above were announced today by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and Health, Mr Tan Kiat How, at SCS’s Gala Dinner held at Shangri-La Hotel. They demonstrate IMDA’s commitment to creating new competitive advantages for tech professionals. By upskilling them and developing top leaders, IMDA aims to build an AI fluent workforce essential for Singapore's digital economy ambitions.