~ New workforce transformation programme brings together support under CTC Grant and EWTP for workforce consultancy, training, job redesign and technology adoption ~
~ As NTUC’s latest Lead Multiplier, KPMG will support companies in realising greater value from AI adoption, from identifying skills gaps to redesigning roles and
supporting workforce development ~
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and KPMG in Singapore have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on initiatives supporting business and workforce transformation. Under the MOU, companies will be supported through a new workforce transformation programme to turn artificial intelligence (AI) adoption into business value, workforce development and better jobs for workers, including professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
The MOU signing ceremony was witnessed by NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and Lee Sze Yeng, Managing Partner, KPMG in Singapore. The agreement was signed by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Job Security Caryn Lim and Lau Kam Yuen, Partner, KPMG in Singapore.
The programme will be the first where companies can tap on both the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (EWTP) at different stages of their transformation journey. This helps to drive business transformation, worker upskilling, and job redesign in response to AI disruption, in line with the Tripartite Jobs Council's efforts. KPMG will contribute insights and expertise in business transformation, workforce transformation, AI adoption, and sustainability and green procurement across sectors, including five priority sectors1, where demand is present.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said: “As AI reshapes jobs and workplaces, NTUC is taking action to ensure that workers, including PMEs, can adapt and benefit from new opportunities. Through our Lead Multiplier collaborations, we are providing companies with access to trusted expertise and solutions to support their transformation. Our collaboration with KPMG brings together the support available under the CTC Grant and EWTP to make it easier for companies to move transformation from planning to implementation, enabling their workers, including PMEs, through training and job redesign. Together, these support NTUC’s efforts under the Tripartite Jobs Council to help both businesses and workers succeed in an AI-enabled economy.”
Redesigning jobs and skills alongside transformation
As an approved EWTP consultant, KPMG brings expertise in business and workforce transformation, including skills assessment, transformation roadmaps, job redesign, technology adoption and change management. Under the MOU, KPMG will contribute relevant insights and expertise to support knowledge sharing, capability development and the sharing of best practices. These efforts are intended to help companies better realise value from their AI investments and support business and workforce transformation outcomes.
To help companies put these transformation plans into action, eligible companies may explore support available under the NTUC CTC Grant and EWTP at different stages of their transformation journey, subject to programme requirements. As companies adopt AI, automation and new ways of working, the programme can help companies anticipate how tasks, roles and skills are likely to evolve. As a result, they will be more prepared to anticipate future workforce needs, redesign jobs around higher-value work, and equip workers with skills for new and expanded roles, thus helping workers benefit from better jobs, wages and work prospects.
Lee Sze Yeng, Managing Partner, KPMG in Singapore, said: “For most people, the question is no longer whether AI will change their jobs, but how – and whether they will be ready. They want to know what will change, which skills to build and where their next role could be. Any company can buy AI. What it cannot buy is a workforce that knows how to get the most out of it. Through this initiative, we aim to equip businesses with the insights and capabilities to build this workforce – understanding the skills needed, reshaping roles and preparing leaders to guide the change.”
Building capabilities to lead AI transformation
Alongside workforce transformation initiatives, NTUC LearningHub has engaged KPMG to develop six capability-building courses spanning AI transformation, AI in sustainability, and AI in finance. Drawing on KPMG’s industry insights and transformation expertise, the courses aim to equip business leaders with practical knowledge and capabilities to translate AI opportunities into meaningful business outcomes. Two one-day courses, focused on leading AI transformation, have been developed as part of the collaboration.
As a pilot, over 20 senior leaders and decision-makers from the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and business events sector, brought together by the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS), attended the ‘Leading AI Transformation’ class at the event, demonstrating its relevance to the industry.
Jeremy Ong, Chief Executive Officer, NTUC LearningHub, said: "The organisations that successfully harness AI will be those with leaders who are ready to take the lead in shaping that transformation. Beyond understanding the technology, leaders must be able to identify opportunities where AI can create value, exercise human intelligence and sound judgement, and bring their people along on the transformation journey. As the training engine supporting NTUC’s AI-Ready SG initiative, our collaboration with KPMG aims to strengthen these practical capabilities so that leaders can turn AI opportunities into purposeful AI adoption, navigate change and deliver meaningful and sustainable business outcomes."
Taken together, these areas of support aim to help companies identify their transformation needs, explore relevant resources and take practical action, while equipping workers with skills to grow alongside and benefit from business transformation.
1The five sectors are financial and professional services; the built environment; healthcare and social services; aviation, transport and logistics; and advanced manufacturing, in line with the National AI Council priority sectors.
