SKILLS DEMAND FOR THE FUTURE ECONOMY REPORT
2025

For the best experience, we recommend viewing this report and the accompanying charts on a desktop computer.

The SDFE 2025 report revolutionizes workforce intelligence through its sophisticated mapping of skills, technology, and career pathways. This innovative blueprint empowers businesses to anticipate talent needs while enabling individuals to chart meaningful career transitions that address critical industry demands. Its groundbreaking analysis of emerging technologies and strategic industries creates a dynamic ecosystem where business innovation, personal aspirations, and economic priorities converge. This sophisticated approach to skills intelligence stands as a cornerstone for Singapore’s future, while its multilayered methodology ensures our workforce and businesses remain agile, competitive, and future-ready in the global digital economy.
Yustina Saleh, Ph.D.
Managing Director of Innovation Solutions,
The Burning Glass Institute
What Is In Store For You?
Dr Gog Soon Joo
Chief Skills Officer
SkillsFuture Singapore

The 2025 edition of the Skills Demand for the Future Economy (SDFE) report draws inspiration from our numerous partners and users of the jobs-skills data sets and dashboards released in 2023.

We are heartened by the continued enthusiasm of our skills ecosystem partners utilising these resources to develop targeted insights and solutions (See Exemplary Users for innovative usage examples). To better serve the skills ecosystem, we have developed a dedicated Jobs-Skills Portal featuring datasets, dashboards, and resources, enabling users to pull relevant data and insights for their own decision-making. Please register here to receive regular updates on jobs-skills data and insights.

This edition includes several enhancements and new dashboards to better meet users’ needs:

We have revamped the skill clusters to enable readers to connect in-demand skills to business functions, providing a sharper understanding of skills requirements for specific job roles. In light of technological advancements, we have crowdsourced from global experts to compile a comprehensive list of Applications and Tools (Apps & Tools) used in respective work functions. Chapter 1 offers insights into how skills demands for different job roles have evolved over the past five years and which Apps & Tools have become more prevalent. Readers are encouraged to explore the full list of occupations, corresponding skills requirement changes, and Apps & Tools usage on the Job Requirements Dashboard.

We have also developed a skills matrix to monitor trends in the demand of skills and transferability across job roles. Chapter 2 provides the skills movements over the last three years and skills forecast for 2025 in the Care, Digital, and Green economies. Access the Priority Skills Dashboard in this portal.

In partnership with Workforce Singapore, we have further improved our analysis of identifying potential pathways to support individuals’ career transitions (Chapter 4). An online Skills and Job Mobility Dashboard allows readers to explore potential career moves based on criteria such as wage, demand, growth, skills similarity, and historical transitions. The dashboard highlights 146 job roles with good potential for career mobility.

This year’s report also includes a special feature on Singapore’s Creative Industries (Chapter 3), which have been at the forefront of embracing and integrating technologies in their businesses. Readers can explore the changing skills demands of creative job roles and understand the AI-related Apps & Tools commonly used by job roles in both creative and non-creative sectors via the Job Requirements Dashboard.

Over the past four years, the SDFE editorial team has collaborated with industry professionals, scientists, and researchers from various sectors and professional practices to illuminate Singapore’s skills demand, signpost skills areas to invest in, and support upskilling and reskilling efforts. One thing is abundantly clear: we need all hands on deck in the skills development journey. SkillsFuture Singapore looks forward to your continued partnership in this endeavour.

The SDFE 2025 report provides an essential, updated insight into Singapore’s evolving job market, focusing on the Care, Digital, and Green economies. Career practitioners will greatly benefit, as they can now guide their clients based on the latest research information.
Timothy Hsi, EdD
President,
Career Development Association of Singapore
This report is an important resource for our local creative freelancers to thrive in an innovation-driven economy. I appreciate the report’s specific data points that are useful references, for freelancers and micro-enterprises who must navigate a steep upward trajectory of technological change while competing in a globalised and demanding business environment.
Jean See
Director,
National Trades Union Congress Freelancers and Self-employed Unit
Insights on how skills requirements are changing for different job roles, and which skills are highly transferable and emerging as priority future skills, are critical for the readiness and resilience of current and future workers in the rapidly changing world of work. The report brings in critical insights on how skills can assist job transition and career development.
Akiko Sakamoto, Ph.D.
Senior Regional Skills and Employability Specialist,
International Labour Organisation
The Skills Demand for the Future Economy report’s inclusion of relevant applications and tools further aids HR professionals look for candidates possessing the right training to be productive from the get-go. Individuals and HR units can use the Skills and Job Mobility Dashboard to help plan out pathways for current employers to make the most of their training budgets to ensure employee development and job satisfaction.
Kan Min-Yen, Ph.D.
Vice Dean (Undergraduate Office), Associate Professor,
NUS School of Computing, National University of Singapore
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