Building a Future-Ready Economy: ESR Committees Issue Eight Recommendations to Drive Economic Growth and Workforce Transformation

In recent years, Singapore’s economic growth and workforce have been impacted by growing geopolitical tensions, rapid advances in technology (particularly artificial intelligence (“AI“)), a transition to a low-carbon economy, and slowing workforce growth. These factors are not passing headwinds, but structural shifts in the global operating environment.

To address this, five Economic Strategy Review (“ESR“) Committees – on (i) Global Competitiveness; (ii) Technology and Innovation; (iii) Entrepreneurship; (iv) Human Capital; and (v) Managing the Impact of Restructuring – were set up in August 2025. The ESR Committees were tasked with the mandate of reviewing Singapore’s economic strategies comprehensively and developing a strategic roadmap for the next five to 10 years.

On 13 May 2026, the ESR Committees submitted their recommendations, structured around three imperatives:

1. Sharpen Singapore’s value proposition by focusing on where Singapore can lead, anchor differentiated capabilities, and offer value that others cannot easily replicate. This includes extending Singapore’s lead in core sectors like advanced manufacturing and finance, while also taking calculated bets in emerging areas where Singapore has a credible right to play, such as AI.

2. Enhance agility and adaptability in Singapore’s enterprise ecosystem by enabling companies to make the leap from startup to scale-up; from local enterprise to regional or even global players. Likewise, Singapore’s job market must be agile – designing for good jobs, providing access to better and broader opportunities, and supporting workers with training and job-matching.

3. Build resilience alongside efficiency by (i) improving Singapore’s role as a hub for goods, capital, data and energy; and (ii) building resilience into our economic system in relation to energy security, supply chains, and climate risks.

The three imperatives undergird eight thrusts to support both businesses and workers as follows:

For Businesses

1. Build global leadership in areas of strength and take bold bets for future growth
   • Sharpen Singapore’s ability to attract and anchor leading industries.
   • Accelerate the transformation of existing operations.
   • Entrench investments deeply into Singapore’s ecosystem.
   • Invest in emerging technologies to create new growth engines.

   • Expand into high-value trust-based services.

2. Make Singapore a global leader in AI solutions, and an AI-empowered economy
   • Make Singapore a location of choice for high-impact AI solutions.
   • Develop leading firms as AI champions.

   • Accelerate economy-wide AI adoption.

3. Strengthen Singapore’s role as a connected and trusted hub
   • Build next-generation physical and digital connectivity in an integrated manner.
   • Capture more value from orchestrating flows.
   • Build leadership in trusted data flows and digital infrastructure.

   • Reinforce and extend Singapore’s role as an energy hub.

4. Foster a more dynamic enterprise ecosystem so that more Singapore-based companies can start, scale, and succeed globally
   • Expand access to growth capital and strengthen support for startups.
   • Anchor and grow the next generation of leading enterprises.
   • Strengthen support for Singapore-based firms to internationalise.

   • Enable firms to restructure and transition more smoothly.

5. Build economic resilience as a core capability
   • Build energy resilience through strategic buffers and diversification.
   • Prepare for a low carbon and climate-resilient future.
   • Identify and mitigate critical supply chain vulnerabilities.
   • Expand Singapore’s network of trusted partnerships.

For Workers

6. Create more and a broader range of good jobs
   • Stay open while building deeper Singaporean capabilities in growth sectors.
   • Advance an AI strategy that complements workers.
   • Raise quality and attractiveness of jobs in resilient sectors such as early childhood education, allied health and social services.

   • Strengthen entrepreneurship as a viable pathway.

7. Establish a stronger system for career transitions and worker support
   • Create career bridges to support workers in at-risk roles.
   • Enable earlier intervention in retrenchment support.
   • Strengthen support for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).

   • Closely monitor the impact of AI on workers and adjust policies where needed.

8. Empower workers to learn for life and take charge of their careers
   • Deepen SkillsFuture support for career transitions and lifelong learning.
   • Integrate learning with work and employer needs.
   • Invest in future-ready skills such as AI, human skills, and global exposure.
   • Build a more nimble ecosystem of career and employment services.

In sum, the recommendations of the ESR Committees set out a comprehensive, forward-looking roadmap to reposition Singapore’s economy in response to structural global shifts. Taken together, they reflect an integrated strategy to ensure that Singapore remains a trusted, connected, and future-ready hub, capable of delivering good jobs and long-term economic security in an increasingly complex and uncertain global landscape.

Going forward, the Government will work together with industry partners and unions, business leaders and workers to translate these recommendations to action.

Click on the following links for more information (available on the SG Press Centre website at www.sgpc.gov.sg):

• Ministry of Digital Development and Information’s Press Release titled “ESR Committees set out economic strategy to secure future growth and create good jobs for Singaporeans”
• ESR Executive Summary titled “Economic Strategy Review Securing Growth and Good Jobs in a Changing World”
• Transcript of Opening Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow at Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Future Economy Conference 2026
• Transcript of Keynote Address by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong at SBF Future Economy Conference 2026
• Final Recommendations: What These Mean for Singapore (available at www.gov.sg)