Budget 2026: SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore to be merged into new statutory board
New entity will be jointly overseen by manpower and education ministries
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- New agency will be a “one-stop shop” for training, career guidance and job matching
- SSG, WSG officers to receive opportunities to reskill and take on suitable new roles
- No disruption to existing services before the new agency takes over
[SINGAPORE] SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will be merged with Workforce Singapore (WSG) into a new statutory board, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his Budget speech on Thursday (Feb 12).
The new entity will be jointly overseen by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Ministry of Education (MOE).
“This new agency will be a one-stop shop for skills training, career guidance and job-matching services. For workers and job seekers, that means support will be more seamless,” said Wong, who is also the prime minister.
The agency will also provide “more integrated” support for employers, covering job redesign, hiring and workforce planning and development.
SSG, which focuses on skills training, is currently under the education ministry, while the employment-focused WSG is overseen by the manpower ministry. Both agencies were unveiled in 2016.
The training landscape “looked very different” over a decade ago, PM Wong noted. Institutes of higher learning (IHLs) were then still largely focused on pre-employment training, and SSG was thus set up to “embed lifelong learning within our education system”.
“Today, we have achieved this objective,” said PM Wong, noting that adults at all career stages can access many high-quality training options.
Last year, more than 600,000 individuals took up training courses – offered by IHLs and private providers – with SkillsFuture support.
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The government has worked to strengthen coordination between SSG and WSG, which engages employers and jobseekers, PM Wong noted.
“But in an era of faster technological change and more frequent job transitions, stronger alignment is needed, and our systems must work more seamlessly together,” he added.
The recent Economic Strategy Review had also recommended that the government look into how it organises jobs and skills support for Singaporeans.
“We’ve carefully considered this recommendation, and will take a decisive step forward,” said PM Wong.
The new agency will enable “end-to-end career and employment services for Singaporean workers”, MOM and MOE said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“A single agency overseeing jobs and skills will also allow us to respond faster and more effectively to changes in the fast-evolving economy and labour market,” they pointed out.
WSG and SSG will continue to provide their usual services until the new agency is ready to take over these functions, with no service disruption.
MOE and MOM said that they will support all WSG and SSG officers through the transition, “including by providing opportunities to reskill and take on suitable new roles in the new agency or other agencies, if necessary”.
More details on the new agency will be shared during both ministries’ Committee of Supply debates.
For more of BT’s Budget 2026 coverage, go to bt.sg/budget26
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