Singapore employers face tech hiring gaps amid AI skills

General Assembly found that 95% of employers in Singapore face tech hiring challenges. The study is the first Singapore-specific snapshot in the training provider's State of Tech Talent research.

The findings show a market where hiring pressure has eased only slightly, even as employers report a broader talent pool. The main issue is less the number of candidates than whether workers are ready for jobs shaped by artificial intelligence and growing data demands.

Data roles stand out as the hardest to fill. Some 58% of employers in Singapore identified data analytics and data science positions as the most difficult to hire for, highlighting strain in areas closely tied to AI adoption and business analysis.

The survey also suggests that employers and workers are increasingly expected to share responsibility for AI skills development. More than 80% of respondents said organisations should take at least partial responsibility for AI upskilling, while individuals are also increasingly expected to take a proactive role in building AI literacy.

This places Singapore slightly above the United States and the United Kingdom in the emphasis on shared responsibility for AI readiness. In the US, 48% of respondents saw it as a joint effort, compared with 41% in the UK and a somewhat higher figure in Singapore.

Skills gap

Employers in Singapore increasingly view upskilling as a practical response to talent shortages. Some 69% said it will have a significant impact by 2026, suggesting many companies see retraining current staff as a way to meet demand where recruitment alone has fallen short.

Cost remains a major obstacle. The study found that 58% of organisations in Singapore cited expense as a barrier to scaling training programmes, a higher share than in the US and UK.

That pressure comes as businesses try to align training more closely with their own needs. The move towards in-house training reflects an effort to build skills around business priorities, but it also exposes limits for employers that may lack the scale or specialist knowledge to keep pace with changing technical requirements.

Sima Sadaat, Country Manager, General Assembly Singapore, said: "The findings highlight a clear shift in how organisations and individuals are approaching AI skills, with growing recognition that upskilling must be a shared responsibility. In Singapore's tech-driven economy, the ability to apply AI effectively is essential across roles, not just in technical functions. At General Assembly, we are seeing both employers and individuals take greater ownership of upskilling, which is a welcome trend. Our hands-on workshops are bridging this gap by equipping professionals with immediately applicable AI and data capabilities. We hope that companies in Singapore will find this report useful as they look at their talent strategies."

Work models

The research also points to changes in how companies source workers. Nearly three-quarters of employers are outsourcing or planning to do so, suggesting a broader shift towards flexible and cross-border labour models as businesses respond to gaps in local hiring.

That trend could reshape access to technology careers. More adaptable work structures may create additional openings for women and others seeking less traditional career paths, while freelancers may benefit from rising demand for project-based work.

Entry-level roles are also changing as automation spreads. More than half of employers in Singapore said some positions have already been automated, although the local outlook appears more measured than in the US and UK, with less urgency and concern about the pace of disruption.

The findings suggest employers in Singapore remain confident they can adapt through reskilling and broader workforce transformation. That confidence sits alongside national efforts to expand AI adoption and strengthen workforce training, making skills policy a central part of the country's economic planning.

For employers, the survey's message is that recruitment alone is unlikely to close immediate gaps in specialist areas. For workers, especially those at the start of their careers, hybrid skills that combine technical knowledge with practical AI use are becoming more important in a labour market changing faster than traditional job descriptions.

The Singapore snapshot forms part of the fourth edition of General Assembly's global State of Tech Talent report, which surveyed senior HR professionals and talent acquisition leaders and compared local trends with those in the US and UK. In Singapore, the standout finding is that employers still see hiring as difficult even when talent is available, because readiness has become the more pressing question.