Singapore tech workers could reclaim up to 14 hours a week with AI, according to new research.

ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, announced a new National Academic Partnership with Republic Polytechnic – the youngest of Singapore’s five polytechnics – to provide hundreds of early in career and lifelong learners further access to dynamic and emerging AI and cloud computing roles, supporting the Government’s Smart Nation agenda.

The news comes as ServiceNow launches its inaugural National Skills research, with Pearson finding that 15 percent of the new jobs created in Singapore will need people with AI and emerging technologies skills. 361,000 new jobs will arrive in Singapore by 2028 – more than 55,000 in technology specific roles. The ICT, Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Professional Services industries will experience the greatest national jobs boost.

The research also found that jobs in Singapore will benefit from the biggest time savings by using AI at work, compared to other countries globally.

“Jobs in Singapore can look to save up to 14 hours a week, with local based roles such as system administrators, developers, business process analysts, architects and implementation consultants all set to receive a greater time boost when compared to equivalent jobs overseas*said Wee Luen Chia, Managing Director and Group Vice President, ServiceNow Asia.

“Everyone can find valuable time savings by putting AI to work, every day. The national productivity gains this will deliver to business, government agencies and the economy is unparalleled. Not to mention the freedom this delivers to people to focus on innovating, growing business and furthering their skills.”

ServiceNow has trained 1,900 Singaporeans on the company’s AI platform within the last 12 months, with more than 600 free courses and 18-job related certification paths available.

Innovative Training Programme for In-Demand Digital Roles
Republic Polytechnic and ServiceNow are launching their first collaborative course in October, through the Diploma in Enterprise Cloud Computing & Management and Diploma in Information Technology. These programmes will equip students with the skills and credentials to pursue high-demand careers in fields such as development, digital project management and business digitalisation.

The course also connects students to ServiceNow’s jobs for these students to access meaningful digital careers with many of the world’s leading enterprises within Singapore and across the globe.

“As we embrace Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, we are excited to collaborate with world-class AI partners like ServiceNow to offer accessible, high-quality, and industry-recognised skills. Through this collaboration, we aim to equip Singaporeans with job-ready skills that align with in-demand roles across the nation. Our courses will open doors for students to access different tech career opportunities across various industries, laying a strong foundation for a successful digital career,” said Wai Ling Wong, Director, School of Infocomm, Republic Polytechnic.

This partnership builds on ServiceNow’s existing skilling commitments with customers, partners and government agencies, including NTUC LearningHub, VITAL Shared Services, Synapxe – Singapore’s HealthTech agency, GovTech, Accenture, Fujitsu, Enable – a Fujitsu company, NCS and Tata Consultancy Services, to train employees or skill individuals on ServiceNow’s Platform.

Local industries to thrive in the AI revolution
As AI adoption accelerates, Singapore’s labour market will continue to evolve. ServiceNow and Pearson’s research reveals that jobs growth within the next five years is expected to be greatest across Singapore’s most strategic industries that can expand Singapore’s pan-Asia footprint.

This projected job growth includes:

  • 33,400 in Telecommunications, Media and Technology
  • 29,300 in Financial Services
  • 15,600 in Healthcare
  • 10,900 in Manufacturing – marking an incredible turnaround for a sector that suffered decline in the workforce in the past
  • 3,900 in Professional Services
  • 300 in Travel

Technology careers are now pervasive and cross-industry; ServiceNow expects careers to create 55,000 new roles in Singapore. Jobs like computer and information systems managers, software application developers, and data analysts are expected to see significant growth. Meanwhile, more than 2,200 new technical project managers will be required by companies who are investing in new technologies and systems upgrades, necessitating expertise in project management. 1,500 new application developers will play a vital role in strengthening Singapore’s digital core and delivering new services to Singapore citizens.

Local talent available for interview: From the age of seven, Vivek Anand has been fascinated by skilling up on computers, starting his career as a Developer, moving into a consultant role and now leading a growing team as a 32-year-old Principal Consultant at Fujitsu.

Vivek completed two courses with ServiceNow to sharpen his expertise in emerging technology areas and build confidence to inform business leaders of the value of digital transformation. Vivek completed his first course in 2022 and the second in January 2024 – which have increased salary potential and, more importantly in his words, unlock future career opportunities as part of his journey of lifelong learning.

Vivek’s philosophy, “When you think of caring for your career, it’s similar to how you seed a tree to grow and bear fruits. My career has been a constant, fulfilling process of lifelong learning and continuous growth.”

On using AI at work to save time, Vivek said, “I save on average 25 minutes each time I use AI, when I receive a customer request – I can auto-populate information based on the customers’ specific scenario, quickly solve for issues by quick access to specific data to solve problems and leverage genAI to help with customer responses.”

Speaking about his most recent upskilling course, he added, “With my company, Fujitsu, investing in additional skilling programmes with ServiceNow, I was able to travel overseas and spend a week in-person with 30 brilliant, like-minded people spearheading their organisation’s digital journeys. Together, we learnt complex problem-solving skills, leveraging our foundation in analytics to develop and deliver better digital services to end-users and consumers.”

*Includes USA, Canada, Germany, India, UK, Australia, and Japan. Comparisons based on maximum tech adoption within IT organisations.

**Photo Credit – DC Studio from Freepik