Inside Singapore’s Leadership Agenda: What the Nation’s Decision-Makers Mean for 2026 Hiring

GeneralNovember 13, 2025 15:00

Business leaders discussing Singapore’s workforce outlook and salary trends for 2026.

This article is written in English for readers in Singapore. Chinese and Japanese translations are available on our website. 

Leaders Set the Tempo for Singapore’s Workforce Transformation

As Singapore moves into 2026, national policy and business strategy converge on one reality — growth now depends on how people and technology evolve together.

Reeracoen Singapore’s Salary Guide 2026 shows employment has stabilised, salary growth is moderating to 4.0 – 4.3%, and hiring priorities are shifting from expansion to efficiency.

Behind those figures lies the influence of policymakers and corporate leaders steering economic direction, digital adoption, and workforce transformation.

From Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s AI-for-All agenda to new corporate priorities in banking, tech, and sustainability, leadership decisions today will shape tomorrow’s job creation.

 

1️⃣ Lawrence Wong — People-First AI and the Next Productivity Leap

Prime Minister Wong’s Forward SG and National AI Strategy 2.0 position AI as empowerment, not displacement — every sector must adopt it responsibly, backed by job redesign and mid-career training.

“Singapore will be a place where technology serves people — not replaces them.”

For employers, this means:

  • Expanding AI-literacy and reskilling initiatives for existing staff
  • Redesigning roles so automation augments, not replaces, human oversight

SMEs can expect continued funding and wage-support schemes to accelerate AI integration, directly influencing 2026 hiring and pay structures.

 

2️⃣ Tan Su Shan — DBS and the Gender Dividend

Appointed CEO of DBS Group in 2025, Tan Su Shan became Southeast Asia’s first female leader of a major bank.

Her leadership underscores a shift from pure digitalisation toward skills-anchored, sustainable growth — combining AI-augmented analytics, regional wealth expansion, and diversity pipelines.

This is already visible in Reeracoen’s banking data, where AI-risk, ESG, and leadership-succession roles show premium increments of ~8–10% over 2024 benchmarks.

 

3️⃣ Teo Chee Hean & Dilhan Pillay — Temasek’s Responsible Capitalism

Under Chairman Teo Chee Hean and CEO Dilhan Pillay, Temasek continues balancing governance with green-growth investment.

Its emphasis on AI infrastructure, decarbonisation, and regional ventures cascades through portfolio companies, fuelling demand for sustainability reporting, risk analytics, and transformation leadership — all listed as growth roles in Reeracoen’s 2026 guide

 

4️⃣ Chia Der Jiun & Sopnendu Mohanty — MAS and Digital Trust

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is advancing two parallel missions: maintain financial stability while expanding innovation via tokenisation and AI-governance frameworks.

As Managing Director Chia Der Jiun and former FinTech Chief Sopnendu Mohanty steer these reforms, demand is rising for compliance technologists, digital-asset strategists, and risk specialists.

Finance-sector salaries are projected to rise 3 – 5% in 2026, supported by MAS initiatives on Project Guardian and the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy.

 

5️⃣ Tan Kok Yam — Scaling SkillsFuture for Mid-Career Talent

SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) CEO Tan Kok Yam is leading a major redesign of national upskilling.

The upcoming SkillsFuture for All programme connects funding directly to employer adoption of AI and micro-credentials, rewarding firms that integrate learning outcomes into productivity metrics.

For HR leaders, this means more accessible subsidies — and greater accountability to show ROI in retention and performance.

 

6️⃣ Lim Ming Yan & S.S. Teo — Anchoring Singapore’s Real Economy

Lim Ming Yan (Changi Airport Group Chairman) and S.S. Teo (Singapore Business Federation Chairman) personifies Singapore’s resilient enterprise backbone.

Their boards’ directions influence aviation, logistics, and SME internationalisation — all sectors showing steady hiring and ~4% wage growth in 2026 data

Priorities now include green engineering, customer analytics, and supply-chain modernisation, spreading technical-skills demand beyond traditional tech industries.

 

7️⃣ Grace Fu & Janil Puthucheary — Mainstreaming Sustainability Skills

The Ministries of Sustainability and the Environment, Trade and Industry, and Education intersect through the work of Grace Fu and Janil Puthucheary.

Their policies are embedding ESG and sustainability literacy across education and enterprise audits.

Reeracoen’s 2026 findings point to ESG managers, sustainability analysts, and carbon-accounting specialists among the fastest-growing roles for the coming year.

 

8️⃣ Kenji Naito — Talent Mobility Across APAC

Kenji Naito, Group CEO of Reeracoen, champions data-driven, people-centric recruitment and cross-border talent mobility throughout Asia.

His philosophy of “skills transparency and consultative hiring” underpins Reeracoen’s regional surveys and salary benchmarks, making the company a key reference point for employers designing 2026 workforce strategies.

“When people grow, companies grow — and economies follow.” — Kenji Naito, Reeracoen Group CEO

 

What This Leadership Agenda Means for Employers

Theme Policy & Market Drivers Employer Impact
AI-Empowered Productivity PM Wong’s AI Strategy 2.0; MAS tokenisation pilots Surge in data, cybersecurity and AI governance roles
Green & Sustainable Growth Grace Fu’s climate agenda; Temasek decarbonisation funding ESG and sustainability roles projected to rise ~6 %
Skills-Based Economy SkillsFuture reform; Naito-san’s regional hiring model Pay based on capability growth rather than credentials

These intersecting priorities explain why 2026 is the year of quality over quantity in recruitment.

 

Reading Leadership Through Data

Reeracoen Singapore Salary Guide 2026 quantifies these shifts:

  • 4.0 – 4.3% average salary growth forecast
  • 26% turnover in manufacturing
  • Up to 15% AI-skills premium across corporate roles

Together, they affirm Singapore’s workforce transition from recovery to maturity.

 

Understand how leadership and labour-market direction intersect.
 👉 Download the Singapore Salary Guide 2026

Benchmark your 2026 workforce strategy.
 👉 Follow Reeracoen Insights on LinkedIn for leadership and labour-market updates

 

✅ Final Author Credit
By Valerie Ong (Regional Marketing Manager)
Published by Reeracoen Singapore — a leading recruitment agency in APAC.

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