More than two-fifths (43%) of Singapore business leaders are worried about future talent shortages, and only 30% are confident their organisation has the skills needed for long-term success, according to Workday.
These findings are based on a global study of 2,300 business leaders in director-level positions or higher from organizations employing at least 100 people worldwide. The survey was administered by Hanover Research on behalf of Workday in November 2024 across 22 markets in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia-Pacific and Japan, including 149 respondents based in Singapore.
As AI transforms industries, the skills required to thrive in the workforce are evolving fast. However, many organisations lack visibility into the existing capabilities of their people — less than half of Singapore leaders (46%) say they have a clear view of the skills within their workforce today.
This growing uncertainty is exposing the limitations of traditional talent management approaches that focus on job titles, degrees, and previous companies worked for.
Instead, organisations are now accelerating the shift to skills-based talent strategies, prioritising an individual’s capabilities over traditional credentials. This approach enables more agile, data-driven hiring, development, and deployment of talent.
AI is both a catalyst for and an enabler of this shift. While the rise of AI is transforming jobs, it is also helping Singapore organisations build more agile, skills-driven workforces.
More than half (52%) of Singapore leaders report that streamlining repetitive tasks is the main benefit of using AI as part of a skills-based hiring strategy.
“Organisations in Singapore will need to fully embrace a skills-first mindset to address the talent shortage challenges in today’s workforce,” said Fabio Tiviti, Workday’s group VP for APAC & Japan field operations.
“This will allow organisations to truly unlock the full potential of AI and ensure the workforce is well-equipped to tackle the challenges of tomorrow,” said Tiviti.
Despite the momentum behind skills-based strategies, 52% of business leaders in Singapore cite the time needed to reskill employees as the main challenge to transitioning to a skills-based organisation. This is followed by resistance to change in the organisation, as reported by 49% of respondents.
The research shows that technology alone isn’t the solution. Overcoming these challenges requires a shift in mindset – one that includes clear communication of the benefits (according to 58% of respondents) and effective change management (46%) to drive adoption across organisations.
