Singapore needs to ensure that AI-driven productivity gains translate into better jobs and stronger career pathways, rather than creating a future of "jobless growth", Minister of State for Manpower and Trade and Industry, Foo Cexiang said.
Speaking at the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) People Behind People Forum 2026, Foo said organisations need to deliberately design how technology, jobs and workforce development come together as AI changes the way work is performed.
"AI can unlock new sources of productivity and growth for Singapore and our businesses. But growth alone is not enough," he said. "We must guard against a future of jobless growth, where businesses may become more productive, but workers see fewer pathways to enter, progress and build meaningful careers."
His comments came as the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development (TWG-HC) launched its report, Opportunity by Design: Strengthening Human Capital in Every Workplace for Every Worker. The government has accepted the report's recommendations.
Foo said the impact of AI will depend not only on which tasks are automated, but on how employers redesign jobs and learning pathways around the technology.
"These are business decisions and people decisions at the same time," he said, calling for business and HR leaders to work together from the start of transformation initiatives.
He also highlighted a distinction between experienced and new workers in AI-enabled workplaces. Experienced employees can often use AI to accelerate their work because they already have operational knowledge, organisational context and the judgement needed to assess its outputs.
New workers, meanwhile, still need opportunities to learn core skills, understand how work is done and develop judgement through experience and feedback.
"If we automate every entry-level task, we may improve efficiency today but weaken the pipeline of expertise for tomorrow," Foo said.
He urged employers to use AI to augment experienced workers while creating structured opportunities for newer employees to take on progressively more complex responsibilities.
"There is no shortcut to judgement," he said. Foo pointed to DBS as an example of how AI adoption can be accompanied by job redesign.
The bank's business and HR leaders worked together to understand how AI would affect operating models, workflows and roles, guided by its philosophy of "save people, not jobs".
One example is customer service employee Shahnaz, whose role previously involved listening to lengthy call recordings, manually reviewing interactions and piecing together customer issues.
Technology now helps summarise calls, identify customer sentiment and surface key insights, freeing up capacity for higher-value work.
Shahnaz has since taken on responsibilities including identifying customer trends, driving process improvements and working with stakeholders to address problems in greater depth. Her expanded role also includes governance and risk-related responsibilities requiring greater judgement and decision-making.
For Foo, the example illustrates how technology can be used to change the nature of work rather than simply make existing tasks faster.
"Technology improves productivity. Business and HR leaders redesign work and build pathways together," he said.
The TWG-HC report's first thrust focuses on improving opportunities for Singaporeans, including through the Singapore Opportunity Index (SOI).
The index, launched at the forum last year, is intended to give workers and jobseekers greater visibility into whether employers provide opportunities to learn, progress and build meaningful careers.
Foo cited SATS employee Hussien Bin Mahmood, who moved from more than two decades in cargo operations into a redesigned, multi-skilled and digitally enabled role before progressing into a supervisory position.
SATS CEO Kerry Mok has also set an ambition for an ITE graduate entering the company to eventually progress into senior management. The company works with Institutes of Higher Learning on talent pipelines, mentoring, skills development and job redesign.
Foo encouraged employers to use the SOI as a catalyst for improving workforce practices, rather than simply as a scorecard.
HR capabilities to support transformation
The report also calls for stronger people leadership capabilities as organisations navigate technological and workforce changes.
Foo said business and HR leaders need to understand each other's priorities, with HR professionals developing greater understanding of strategy, operations, technology and value creation, while business leaders need to understand skills, job design and workforce outcomes.
The government will support programmes to develop these capabilities, including a new human capital programme by the Human Capital Leadership Institute and its partners, scheduled to launch next year.
Separately, from July 1, 2028, organisations with more than 200 employees will need at least one suitable HR professional who is IHRP-Certified Professional or higher. This can be covered briefly here as part of the wider capability-building agenda rather than as the central news point.
The government expects the measure, alongside broader tripartite efforts, to help increase the pool of certified HR professionals from around 9,000 to about 18,000 by 2030.
The TWG-HC workgroup aims by 2030 to have more than two million employees working in organisations with strong people capabilities, support at least 2,000 enterprises, and uplift around 20,000 HR professionals and people leaders.
Other initiatives include practical guidance from IHRP and SNEF, an ongoing co:grow-IHRP pilot providing HR advisory support to SMEs, and PATH, a multi-agency initiative focused on People-Centred AI Transformation for HR.
The wider message from Foo was that workforce transformation cannot be separated from business transformation.
"Our goal is not growth at any cost, nor growth without jobs," he said. "It is growth that opens new pathways for people, enables businesses and workers to progress together, and gives every worker the opportunity to contribute and find purpose through work."