Agentic AI Adoption Underway but Singapore Workforce Lacks Familiarity and Skills

• Three in four business leaders reveal that their organisations are at various stages of Agentic AI adoption—whether exploratory (23%), testing (34%), or limited deployment within certain departments or functions (18%).
• While over three in four business leaders (77%) and nearly three in four employees (74%) agree that adopting and being familiar with Agentic AI is important to remain competitive, almost half of leaders (48%) and more than four in five employees (83%) are unfamiliar with the technology.
• Workforce capability is underdeveloped, with 70% of leaders and 83% of employees reporting that the workforce is "not very skilled" or "not skilled at all" in working with Agentic AI systems.
• To close these gaps, more than seven in ten employees (73%) are open to attending training on Agentic AI, and three in five leaders (62%) plan to send staff for training in the next two years.

SINGAPORE, Oct. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) moves from concept to deployment, there is a consensus among business leaders (77%) and employees (74%) that this new technology is vital to remain competitive. However, over four in five employees (83%) and nearly half of business leaders (48%) report that they are unfamiliar with Agentic AI.

Three in four business leaders reveal that their organisations are already at various stages of adoption—from exploratory discussions (23%) and testing phases (34%) to limited deployment within certain departments or functions (18%).

Yet, understanding and knowledge have not kept pace. Seven in ten business leaders (70%) and more than four in five employees (83%) say their workforce is "not very skilled" or "not skilled at all" in working with Agentic AI systems.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub's White Paper Report on Agentic AI for Workplace Resilience, which surveyed 150 business leaders and 300 full-time working professionals to examine the growing prominence of Agentic AI and its implications for cybersecurity and data governance.

There is also a lack of understanding of how Agentic AI will affect daily work. About half of business leaders (51% not very well, 11% not well at all) admit their organisations do not understand the impact of Agentic AI on day-to-day operations. Leaders also cite low AI literacy across functions as the top challenge (46%) in Agentic AI adoption, alongside limited internal expertise (42%), and a lack of clarity of new AI-related roles (41%). For employees, two in three (40% to a small extent, 25% to a negligible extent) say their companies only keep them informed about emerging technologies to a limited extent.

Encouragingly, both groups show a willingness to close this gap. More than seven in ten employees (73%) say they are open to attending training on Agentic AI, while three in five leaders (62%) plan to send staff for such training within the next two years.

The top training areas in Agentic AI are technical skills (45% employees, 50% leaders), data handling (40% employees, 37% leaders), and AI literacy (38% employees, 40% leaders). More than seven in ten employees (71%) also consider certifications important when choosing courses, with the most popular being the Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Certificate (27%), Generative AI for Executives (26%), and Certified CyberAI Professional (24%).

In addition, employees identify critical thinking and problem solving (43%), continuous learning and adaptability (42%), and AI literacy (38%) as the most critical skills for applying Agentic AI effectively. Business leaders, meanwhile, emphasise change management and resilience (45%), alongside critical thinking and problem solving (39%), and continuous learning and adaptability (39%). This highlights the need for human skills to complement technological capabilities, ensuring that Agentic AI is applied effectively and responsibly.

Commenting on the report's findings, Mr Amos Tan, Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Core Skills Officer, NTUC LearningHub, says, "The findings highlight that there is still a fundamental lack of understanding of AI and Agentic AI across workplaces. While adoption has started taking place, many employees and leaders themselves admit they are unfamiliar with the technology, and unsure of its implications. However, the success in this new era will take more than just technical know-how. Technical skills are essential, but human judgement, adaptability and ethics remain indispensable. Redesigning current jobs and developing the human capabilities enable workers to integrate Agentic AI thoughtfully and successfully in their day-to-day roles. By building this dual foundation of technological literacy and human strengths, organisations can then unlock the full potential of Agentic AI and build a workforce ready to thrive in an AI-driven future."

To download the White Paper Report 2025 on Agentic AI For Workplace Resilience, please visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/media/research-reports/2025/Agentic-AI. To find out more about the courses, training, and grants, please contact NTUC LearningHub at www.ntuclearninghub.com.

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub is the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with employers and individual learners to provide learning solutions in areas such as Infocomm Technology, Generative AI & Cloud, Healthcare, Retail & Food Services, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources & Coaching and Foreign Workers Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 34,000 organisations and achieved more than 3.2 million training places across more than 1,000 courses with a pool of about 1,000 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships to offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training. Besides in-person training, we also offer instructor-led virtual live classes (VLCs) and asynchronous online learning. The NTUC LearningHub Learning eXperience Platform (LXP)—a one-stop online learning platform—offers timely, bite-sized and quality content for learners to upskill anytime and anywhere. Beyond learning, LXP also serves as a platform for jobs and skills development for both workers and companies.

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.

SOURCE NTUC LearningHub Pte Ltd