Institute for Adult Learning Launches New Centre to Elevate Skills-First Practices in Singapore

The event showcased various initiatives to promote the adoption of skills-first practices in Singapore, such as the:

a. Revamp of the National Skills Framework into the Skills Framework 2.0 from mid-2026, which links jobs and tasks in our economy to requisite skills, referencing labour market intelligence;

b. Publication of the joint Jobs-Skills Insights (JSI) report by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG);

c. Introduction of the Skills-First Readiness and Adoption (SFRA) Index, a collaboration between the CSFP and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and

d. Signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between IAL and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), NHG Health, and the Burning Glass Institute (BGI) to deepen techniques, develop toolkits and broaden application of skills-first practices.

Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Education and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration, graced the launch event as the Guest-of-Honour at the Lifelong Learning Institute today. Over 300 industry leaders, union representatives, HR professionals, educators, and policymakers attended the event. Themed “Skills-First: Embrace, Deepen, Convene,” the event highlighted Singapore’s drive to promote and embed skills-first¹ practices across all sectors of the economy.

As industries transform and work evolves with the advancement of technology, we need to double down on our efforts to move to a skills-first approach. By focusing on skills when hiring, training, promoting and redeploying talent, employers can create strong impetus for workers to upskill and reskill. A skills-first approach would also expand access to economic opportunities, provide pathways to better jobs for more workers and help our industries be more adaptable.

To this end, IAL and SSG, together with partners like WSG are introducing initiatives to further support employers, individuals and training providers in adopting skills-first practices through enhanced jobs-skills insights.

Enhanced jobs-skills insights will enable individuals to make more informed career and upskilling choices, allow employers to understand the skills profiles and gaps of their employees, and training providers to develop more industry-relevant courses. SSG has partnered sector agencies, industry and tripartite partners to develop the following initiatives to better enable individuals, employers and training providers to adopt skills-first practices.

A.   A Single Skills Taxonomy for Singapore: Skills Framework 2.0 

i. From mid-2026, SSG will update the National Skills Framework to Skills Framework 2.0. This will transform the 38 existing sectoral skills frameworks into a more comprehensive and dynamic national taxonomy linking jobs, tasks and skills. Through the refreshed taxonomy, SSG aims to provide a more responsive, data-driven national map of how jobs, skills and tasks are changing.

ii. The Skills Framework 2.0 offers a standardised language of skills across different sectors of the economy, allowing individuals, employers and training providers to better identify suitable skills interventions both within and across sectors. This will be a key enabler in our move towards a skills-first approach. 

B.   New Jobs-Skills Insights (JSI) Report and SSG Dashboards to Support Adoption of Skills-First Practices

i. In support of the skills-first approach and to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the SkillsFuture movement, SSG and WSG, with expert contributions from IAL and BGI², have released a SkillsFuture movement 10^th Anniversary JSI report – titled “Realising the Skills-First Advantage: Growing Business and Workforce Together”.

ii. To complement the JSI report, SSG has also published two new dashboards, the Job Requirement (Skills) Index Dashboard and the Jobs-Skills Profile Dashboard, for employers and individuals to derive customised insights and facilitate skills-development planning and decision-making. Training Providers can also leverage these tools to develop and refine training programmes to better meet the evolving skills needs of a skills-first workforce. (Please refer to the SkillsFuture movement 10^th Anniversary JSI Factsheet for more details.)

Centre for Skills-First Practices to drive a Skill-first Ethos

The CSFP’s mission is to embed a skills-first approach across policies, organisations, and workforce practices, supported by data-driven insights and global partnerships. The CSFP also aims to position Singapore as a key contributor in skills-first practices, drive ecosystem-wide adoption, and raise national skills literacy so that skills are prioritised in human capital strategies. The CSFP will work closely with SSG and partner agencies in research and analytics to advance skills-first practices.

The CSFP will also support our training institutions in using jobs and skills data from the labour market to develop relevant training and skills development programmes for learners. The CSFP will support employers, training providers, unions, individuals, and policymakers, by developing tools such as the Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index and Skills Learnability Index to guide workforce development and inform policy decisions. (Please refer to the CSFP Factsheet for more details.)

A.    First-of-its-kind Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index

i. The launch event also marked the unveiling of the Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index, co-developed by the CSFP, in collaboration with the OECD. This first-of-its-kind global framework measures the readiness and adoption of skills-first practices at the national level, using data from various sources such as the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey.

ii. The index is composed of three sub-indices: (1) Learning Ecosystem sub-index examines the extent to which skills-first principles are embedded in the design and delivery of education and training; (2) Talent Recognition sub-index evaluates whether skills are formally recognised and rewarded; and, (3) the Enabling Environment sub-index assesses whether a country has the foundational structures to support a shift towards skills-first approaches.

Singapore ranked 12th out of 30 countries in the inaugural Index, placing it in the upper middle tier globally. While Singapore has made meaningful progress in adopting skills-first practices, there remains further ground to cover before reaching the level of leading economies such as Sweden and Belgium. (Please refer to the Skills First Index Key Findings for more information.)

Collaboration with Partners to Drive Skills-First Transformation Across Key Sectors

IAL is forging new partnerships with NTUC, NHG Health, and BGI. The MOUs aim to pilot practical skills-first initiatives, provide labour market insights, and develop support toolkits to help diverse stakeholders effectively adopt skills-first approaches in the workforce. (Please refer to the Memoranda of Understanding factsheet for more details.)

LIST OF FACTSHEETS

Factsheet 1 : The Centre for Skills-First Practices

Factsheet 2 : SkillsFuture movement 10th Anniversary Jobs-Skills Insights Report

Factsheet 3 : Skills-First Index Key Findings

Factsheet 4 : Memoranda of Understanding

¹ A skills-first approach represents a distinct orientation that consciously prioritises the identification (or articulation), acquisition, demonstration, and use of skills as the central aim of workforce development — including recruitment, job design, learning and career advancement.

² The Burning Glass Institute is a global leader in advanced labour market analytics, based in the USA.