Singapore launches new training initiative to produce cloud and AI ready workforce

A new initiative, Skills Pathway for Cloud, launched by Singapore Computer Society (SCS), in collaboration with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and SkillsFuture Singapore, will offer industry-led upskilling programmes in cloud computing to eligible candidates. 

Speaking at the Tech³ Forum on Friday, Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, said the initiative would support the country’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven transformation by creating a robust pipeline of job-ready talent. 

Minister Teo noted that as Singapore accelerates digitalisation towards its Smart Nation vision, the initiative would help grow the pool of “bilingual AI talents”. 

“Their mother tongues are their domain or functional expertise. It is a language they have already mastered. With help, they can learn the language of AI,” said Minister Teo. 

With AI as the “new national language”, as she called it, speaking the language would entail acquiring AI-related skills that enable workers to implement these capabilities and transform their work. 

“We believe these bilingual AI talents will be highly valued and building them up presents a real opportunity for Singapore. They will be pathfinders and pacesetters for meaningful AI adoption everywhere,” she noted. 

The event also saw the unveiling of the fourth edition of SCS and IMDA’s Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) list, which spotlights women driving innovation and impacting the nation’s digital economy through tech-powered projects.  

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Investing in tech talent  

The Skills Pathway for Cloud will provide opportunities for individuals to be considered for professional placements with participating employers. 

Among the 14 employers involved are DBS, Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies, Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), ST Engineering and Temasek. 

This initiative was open to new and mid-career individuals who wanted to acquire cloud capabilities and move into the tech sector. 

The programme has been structured into two levels. The first level provided a certification, and participants could be considered for possible internship opportunities with participating employers.  

The second level grants two certifications. One certificate was for core skill, and the other certificate was for a specialisation. Additionally, the second level entails three months of relevant work experience or six months of internship. 

Upon completion of the second level of the programme, learners would be considered for possible full-time job opportunities with participating employers for four entry-level roles: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, DevSecOps Platform Engineer, Cloud Software Engineer, and Cloud Solution Architect (Associate). 

This was the second Skills Pathway developed by SCS, following the 2024 edition that focussed on cybersecurity. The 2024 edition saw over 180 individuals obtaining a professional placement through the programme.  

“From the first skills pathway for cybersecurity to our current extension, we have been able to directly engage employers, industry leaders, government agencies and training providers,” said SCS Skills Pathway’s Chairman, Edward Chen. 

He added that as the nation’s leading professional society for ICT, SCS was proud to be “the bridge between these different stakeholders, and to shape talent development strategies that are aligned with real workforce needs”.  

Nurturing AI-fluency 

Minister Teo shared that the nation’s priority was to help enterprises adopt AI-powered solutions, train more bilingual AI talents in their companies and to train non-tech professionals in AI literacy programmes.  

According to IMDA’s upcoming Singapore Digital Economy Report 2025, three in four workers surveyed are regularly using AI tools, with 85 per cent of these expressing that AI helped to improve their workflows. 

The same report highlighted that more than two thirds of companies using AI have plans upskill their employees. 

Minister Teo added that IMDA’s TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) will work with companies to train talents and help them become fluent users of AI in their occupations, even if they are not tech related. 

Earlier this year, Minister Teo said that non-tech users across different sectors will become early adopters of AI to complement AI specialists and ensure continuous innovation. 

Targeting both tech and non-tech professionals, the training programmes aim to capture a broad segment of the workforce to equip them with future-ready skills applicable to different job functions and industries.  

IMDA’s TeSA has upskilled more than 340,000 individuals in tech skills since 2016 and aimed to expand reach with the Skills Pathway for Cloud. 

“As cloud infrastructure underpins our digital economy and powers AI technologies, this pathway aligns training with industry demand [and] provides learners a clear path into cloud roles that support our AI ambitions,” said Minister Teo. 

Continuing AI training 

As part of the continuous efforts to enhance the AI talent pool, IMDA’s TeSA supported the AWS Career Launchpad with Trainocate, a Place and Train joint initiative by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and training provider Trainocate. 

As a start, the initiative aimed to identify 100 individuals, comprising graduates and mid-career professionals, to undergo a structured programme from six to 12 months to train in AI capabilities. 

The programme combined hands-on learning with instructor-led training, and as part of on-the-job projects, individuals will be prepared to join organisations and lead AWS AI projects to gain further experience.  

The learners will train within the local AWS Partner Network (APN) which consists of over 130,000 global businesses that provide cloud services. Post-training, the programme will also provide job placement opportunities by connecting candidates to the APN. 

Additionally, individuals would attain AWS certifications upon completion of the programme that can be used to gain academic recognition under the Singapore Institute of Technology’s (SIT) Competency-based Stackable Micro-credential (CSM) Pathway.