What workers want from Budget 2027: AI that works for them

A print media veteran with 26 years of industry experience. A student saving up for a $100 cybersecurity exam. A designer retrenched just short of the age for mid-career support.

Their lives are very different, but they share one worry: as work changes, will there still be a place for me?

These worries resurfaced repeatedly at three pre-Budget engagements NTUC held in October 2026.

On 14 October, NTUC opened its Budget 2027 consultations at a dialogue with about 20 employers and senior managers from the Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB) executive committee. The discussion centred on AI adoption, job security and career transitions, viewed from the industry’s point of view.

On 21 October, about 35 union leaders and staff from NTUC’s Infocomm and Media cluster met at NTUC Centre, joined by young workers and students. Over two hours, they discussed AI, job security, careers, starting out at work and caring for family.

On 26 October, a PME roundtable brought together professionals, HR practitioners, employers, an economist, a lawyer, career coaches and recent graduates. Some had been retrenched themselves. Others had hired, trained or let staff go.

All three sessions are part of a series of engagements NTUC is running in October and November to hear directly from workers ahead of Budget 2027. We started with the issue on many minds: AI and the future of work.

Workers aren’t against AI. Most want to work alongside it. What worries them is being left behind, with courses that lead nowhere, rules that haven’t caught up and no clear path forward.

Training should lead to a real job

The loudest message was about training. Workers aren’t asking for more courses. They’re asking for courses that lead somewhere.

Several participants had signed up for short AI or digital courses expecting a career boost, only to find the content too basic or too general.

One called a course they took “absolutely terrible”, no better than free videos online. Others said quick courses give people a false sense of security: you finish feeling ready, but employers don’t see it that way.

Employers at the TTAB dialogue agreed. Real AI skills, they said, take more than a short course. You need critical thinking, creativity and know-how specific to your role.

What would help? Participants suggested:

• Industry-specific training, showing how AI fits into the work you actually do.
• A clear link to real job openings, so you know which certification gets you hired.
• A chance to practise on the job, because skills fade if you never use them.
• Room to stay sharp in your field. One participant called this being “AI bilingual”: good with AI tools, but still deep in your own field.

A participant who works with companies adopting AI added a hopeful note. A SkillsFuture grant changed his career a decade ago, he said – proof that good training can work.

What this means for you: less time and money spent on courses that go nowhere, and more confidence that what you learn will count when you apply for a job or a promotion.

Fair rules for AI at work

More companies now use AI to screen CVs, assess staff and make hiring decisions. Many workers don’t know when it’s happening, or how to question a decision.

At the union leaders’ session, clear guidelines on AI in hiring and HR received the strongest backing among the ideas discussed. Participants wanted three things:

• Checks for bias, so AI tools don’t unfairly screen people out.
• Transparency, so workers know when AI is involved in a decision about them.
• A human in the loop, so a person, not just a machine, reviews important decisions.

A young participant said staff at her workplace are encouraged to use AI on sensitive documents, but with few rules on keeping that information safe. Good AI rules protect both the business and the worker.

Participants also saw an upside. As more companies take AI governance seriously, new jobs will open up in managing and checking how AI is used.

What this means for you: more confidence that you’re judged fairly, whether a person or software reads your CV, and a clearer way to speak up if something seems wrong.

A clearer path for young and older workers

AI is changing how people get their first job, and how long they can keep a good one.

Starting out

Young people told us entry-level jobs are getting harder to land. Some graduates do several internships and still struggle to get a full-time offer.

One parent said their daughter spent a year and a half doing full-time work under an “internship” label, on far less than a full salary.

Participants said that, to work, apprenticeships should:

• Last long enough to build real skills, with 12 months suggested for skills-based roles.
• Come with proper mentoring, with companies supported to free up mentors who aren’t already stretched.
• Leave you with something to show for it, such as a verified portfolio or a referral, even if you aren’t hired at the end.

Students also pointed to a hidden cost: industry certifications in fields like cybersecurity can cost $100 or more each, before you’ve earned a cent.

Later in your career

Older workers want a plan, not just more classes. Several said that at 55 or older, the problem isn’t an unwillingness to learn but a lack of clarity about what comes next.

One worker in their 60s said retraining to stretch their working life felt daunting. They’d rather employers were rewarded for keeping experienced staff.

Others said mixed-age classrooms can leave older learners anxious and struggling to keep up. Buddy and mentor schemes at work help more. The designer who was retrenched just short of the age for mid-career support said career guidance should start much earlier, not only at 50.

What this means for you: whether you’re starting out or 30 years in, a clearer next step and support that fits where you are in your career.

What happens next

What workers shared in October will shape the proposals NTUC puts forward to the Government for Budget 2027.

We heard a clear message: AI and transformation must lead to better outcomes for workers, not just faster work for companies. That means training that pays off, fair rules on how AI is used, and support that meets workers where they are.

We also heard from employers. At the TTAB dialogue, they backed the aim of better protection and AI readiness for workers.

But they were candid that some jobs will change or disappear, and not every worker can be redeployed. They urged support that gives companies good reasons to keep and grow jobs here, such as grants and incentives, rather than rules that feel like penalties.

They also flagged a bigger shift: Singapore workers now compete not just with AI, but with workforces across the region that use it. That makes it even more important to train for skills that stand out.

NTUC will keep both workers and employers in view, because workers do best when companies have good reasons to invest in them.

The conversation isn’t over. In November, we’ll hear from lower-wage workers, union leaders and young people on cost of living, careers and getting a good start at work.