Singapore sets a 2028 target: 150,000 public officers able to apply AI

Singapore has given its public service a number to hit. On 18 September 2026 the Ministry of Digital Development and Information launched an Institute of Digital Government, set up with the Civil Service College, and said more than 150,000 public officers would have practical digital, data and AI capabilities by end-2028.[1]

Ms Jasmin Lau, Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, launched it at the AI Tech Festival. It covers every level, from fresh entrants to senior leadership.[1]

The institute is framed as a capability effort rather than a new systems agency. Its stated job is helping officers apply digital tools to work they already do: developing policy, handling cases, delivering services and managing people. Programmes are built so officers test approaches, redesign workflows and build solutions.[1]

It is also to run cross-agency learning communities so useful practices move between departments. One already being piloted is Champions of AI Transformation, officers in non-technical roles who are driving workflow redesign in their own agencies and passing the lessons on.[1]

Every officer must complete annual mandatory modules covering cybersecurity, data protection and AI literacy, refreshed as the technology changes. Above that floor sit three pathways named Aware 101, Apply 201 and Build 301, each pitched at a different level of proficiency.[1]

The goal is for all officers to reach Apply 201 by 2028, meaning they can apply technology effectively in everyday and domain-specific work. Each pathway includes a practical exercise such as a quiz or a built solution, so the outcome is demonstrated rather than attended.[1]

The push did not start this month. Nearly 150 Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and heads of agencies began building digital capabilities two years ago, and more recently tried building with AI themselves. The stated reasoning is that leaders who have used the tools ask better questions.[2]

AI Sprints have run since May 2026, agency workshops where officers bring a real problem and work to a prototype. More than 1,000 officers joined the pilots. In one sprint of over 330 human resource leaders, more than 80 per cent said afterwards they felt more confident using AI.[2]

Unusually for a government AI launch, the address opened by acknowledging fatigue. The minister said AI is not most officers' job, that the work comes first and technology is the tool, and that nobody should feel pressured to use AI daily if it does not help them.[2]

Two examples were given. The National Library Board chief executive built an app cutting manual tracking of declassification requests, then concluded the bigger gain was rethinking the workflow. A Housing and Development Board architect, not a coder, built an assistant to search three agencies' guidelines.[2]