SWDA Launches New Initiatives to Strengthen Careers, Skills Development and AI Readiness
The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) has launched three new initiatives for Singapore’s workforce: Connect by SWDA, a one-stop careers and skills touchpoint at the Lifelong Learning Institute; a SkillsFuture AI Subscription giving access to over 200 AI courses from around 30 training providers, plus a complimentary six-month subscription to premium AI tools for those who take up selected courses; and OurWorkforce, a new one-stop portal replacing the SkillsFuture for Business website, letting employers access training grants and workforce transformation resources in one place.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong launched the initiatives on 16 September 2026 at the SkillsFuture Summit for Businesses, held at the Lifelong Learning Institute as the opening event of the inaugural SkillsFuture Festival under SWDA — the agency formed in July 2026 from the merger of SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore. The wider festival runs from 16 September through 28 October 2026, spanning roughly 140 events and around 450 job opportunities nationwide. “Our workers cannot be an afterthought in business transformation,” PM Wong said at the launch.
For SME owners, OurWorkforce is the piece worth bookmarking directly: it consolidates the training grants and transformation programmes that used to sit across separate SkillsFuture for Business pages into a single portal, which should cut down the time spent hunting for the right scheme when planning a training budget or a role upgrade for existing staff.
SME Digital Hub (a sister site) has a longer look at what SWDA means for SME owners planning AI upskilling.
Sources
- SWDA — “SWDA launches new initiatives to strengthen careers, skills development and AI readiness”, published 16 Sep 2026
- AsiaOne — “Our workers cannot be an afterthought in business transformation: PM Wong”, published 16 Sep 2026
