Budget 2026: Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture to merge

SINGAPORE: Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore will merge into a new statutory board jointly overseen by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), announced Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Feb 12).

Workforce Singapore is a statutory board formed in 2016 under MOM, which helps workers secure jobs, providing services including career coaching and job matching.

SkillsFuture Singapore was founded under MOE, to steer the titular initiative introduced in 2015 and encourage lifelong learning.

During his Budget 2026 speech on Thursday, Mr Wong said the Economic Strategic Review committee had recommended that the government review how it organises jobs and skills support for Singaporeans. 

Describing the merger as a "decisive step forward", the finance minister said the 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, from career planning to skills acquisitions and job matching and transitions," he added.

"For employers, the support will be more integrated, covering workforce planning, job redesign, hiring and workforce development."

Through this new agency, the government will be “better positioned to align future skills with future job needs” and deliver more seamless career and employment services, said MOM and MOE in a separate press release 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,” the ministries said.

During the transition, the two agencies will continue to provide their usual services until the new agency is ready to take over, added MOM and MOE, stressing that there will be no service disruption.

“We will support all Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore 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,” they said.

More details about the new agency will be announced during the debates on the two ministries’ spending for the year. 

"It is about continually strengthening our system of lifelong learning and career support so Singaporeans can adapt, grow and realise their full potential," said Mr Wong on Thursday. 

"In a world where change is constant, we must remain a society that never stops learning and never stops striving to do better."