Written Answer · 2026-09-09 · Parliament 15
Breakdown of AI Capability Building Support Disbursed to Employers under Workforce and Enterprise Development Schemes by Quarter, Share of Total and Sector
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Acting Minister for Manpower how much support was disbursed to employers for AI capability building under workforce and enterprise development schemes in each of the last four quarters, what share of total employer support this represented, and which sectors received the most. Ms Jasmin Lau replied that the Government supports AI capability building through AI-specific schemes such as the Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI), and broader programmes such as the Productivity Solutions Grant, the Enterprise Development Grant and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, open to Singapore-based firms in all sectors. As AI-specific schemes such as ECI and Champions of AI were only launched in 2025 or 2026, it is too early to give meaningful disbursement figures. Under broader schemes, AI is usually embedded in wider transformation projects, so support is counted for the whole project and does not represent funding for the AI component alone.
Why it matters
The Government declined to give disbursement figures for AI-specific schemes such as ECI because they are too new, and says the AI share of broader grants cannot be separated out.
Key Points
- • AI-specific schemes include the Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI) and Champions of AI; broader programmes include the Productivity Solutions Grant, the Enterprise Development Grant and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package
- • The schemes are open to Singapore-based firms across all sectors
- • For AI-specific schemes, the Government tracks the projects supported and the grant support provided
- • ECI and Champions of AI were only launched in 2025 or 2026, so the Government says it is too early to give meaningful disbursement figures; it will report them after the schemes have run longer and more projects are completed
- • Under broader schemes, AI adoption is usually embedded in wider business transformation projects and support is counted for the whole project; AI projects can be identified, but the total grant does not represent funding for the AI component alone
The Government did not provide the quarterly, share-of-total or sector figures the MP asked for: for AI-specific schemes it said they are too new, and for broader schemes it said the AI component cannot be separated from the overall project. It committed to reporting figures for the AI-specific schemes once they have run longer and more projects are completed.
Questioner Ms He Ting Ru (Workers' Party) wants the size, share and sector distribution of Government support for employers' AI capability building quantified, so that the allocation of resources can be scrutinised.
As in the MTI reply Ms He received the same day, the Government has no public quantified account of its AI grants to businesses yet; disbursement figures for ECI and Champions of AI will be the obvious point for follow-up questions, while the cannot-be-separated line on broader schemes means the total scale of AI support may stay hard to tally for a long time.
"As some of these schemes, such as ECI and Champions of AI, were only launched in 2025 or 2026, it is too early to provide meaningful disbursement figures."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-09-26
87 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Acting Minister for Manpower in each of the last four quarters (a) how much support was disbursed to employers under workforce and enterprise development schemes for artificial intelligence capability building; (b) what proportion this represented of total support paid to employers; and (c) which sectors received the highest amounts of such support.
Ms Jasmin Lau : The Government supports companies to build artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities through a range of enterprise and workforce transformation schemes. These include schemes that specifically strengthen enterprise capabilities in AI, such as the Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI), as well as broader programmes, like the Productivity Solutions Grant, the Enterprise Development Grant and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, which support projects that help firms to upgrade, innovate, grow and transform their business, including AI projects. These schemes are available to Singapore-based firms, across all sectors.
For AI-specific schemes, we track the projects supported and the grant support provided. As some of these schemes, such as ECI and Champions of AI, were only launched in 2025 or 2026, it is too early to provide meaningful disbursement figures. We will be able to report these after the schemes have been running for a longer period and more projects have been completed.
For broader schemes, AI adoption is often embedded within wider business transformation projects, and we therefore account for the support as part of the overall project. Where relevant, we can identify projects involving AI, but the total grant support would not represent funding for the AI component alone.