Singapore CEOs expect skills shortages to outweigh capital constraints

Skills shortages are expected to become a bigger constraint on growth than access to capital within three years, according to 92% of Singapore chief executives responding to an EY-Parthenon survey.

The survey included 40 respondents in Singapore, alongside a broader sample of 1,200 CEOs at large companies across 21 countries. Among Singapore respondents, 60% reported that their organisations were developing AI skills too slowly to match innovation.

For 98%, AI's anticipated impact over the next three years was greater for job roles, skills and working practices than for total workforce size.

The technology was already contributing to efficiency: 45% named AI as their biggest productivity driver during the preceding 12 months, compared with 33% who cited business-process redesign. Half said they were using capacity freed up by productivity improvements for innovation and transformation.

Financial measurement was less clear. Just 9% reported clear visibility in real time into returns on AI investment, while 57% had some reliable insight into costs and returns. A further 30% could monitor certain costs but had limited scope to assess returns overall.

About 20% said legacy systems, organisational complexity and regulatory requirements frequently absorbed AI efficiency gains before they benefited the bottom line. Half credited reskilling with improving productivity, but only 22% said productivity gains overall were being channelled into workforce development.

Sriram Changali, EY-Parthenon's Asean and Singapore strategy and execution leader, said businesses often applied AI to separate functions rather than complete workflows. He said senior executives and boards also needed AI literacy to distinguish individual experiments from initiatives that could generate value across an enterprise.