Singapore has a vision of producing 100,000 “artificial intelligence (AI) literate” workers by 2029 to reduce the impact on the workforce and ensure the country remains competitive in the Southeast Asian region. To realise this dream, all Singaporeans aged 25 and above who enrol in certain AI courses will receive free access to premium AI services for six months.
Access will be provided in H2 2026 for selected AI courses under the SkillsFuture programme. The move was announced by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during the Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s budget debate. The main aim is to build confidence and fluency in AI through continuous use, not just theory.
The Singapore government is in talks with providers such as Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Manus AI to determine which AI will be provided. Access will be based on the course taken, so that the AI used is truly aligned with the learning content.
In Malaysia, tens of millions have been approved in the 2025 and 2024 Budgets to expand artificial intelligence (AI) education to all universities. Meanwhile, a study report conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) and TalentCorp found that 1.8 million Malaysian workers will be affected by the introduction of this technology within three to five years.
