SBF Signs MOUs with 11 Partners to Strengthen Employment Facilitation, Workforce Development & Industry Capability Building for Wholesale Trade Sector; 700 companies and 1,000 workers expected to benefit
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has strengthened the workforce transformation ecosystem for the Wholesale Trade sector, with the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with 11 partners. As part of its Jobs Skills Integrator for Wholesale Trade (JSIT-WST) initiative, this strategic partnership creates a coordinated workforce ecosystem, providing companies with end-to-end support to bridge skills gaps and drive business growth.
Through these MOUs, ecosystem partners will contribute expertise in the following areas:
• Employment facilitation and job matching: Through collaboration with workforce partners, NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), Ingeus and AKG, the initiative will support companies in recruitment support. In addition, employment facilitation will be provided to jobseekers in accessing new employment opportunities. By connecting employers with jobseekers through targeted matching and job opportunity sessions, the initiative strengthens alignment between workforce supply and industry hiring demand.
• Training and workforce development: Supported by education and training institutes National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Polytechnic, NTUC LearningHub and SIM Academy, which will curate and deliver programmes and courses to help companies build capabilities in areas such as digitalisation, internationalisation and business transformation.
• Industry capability development and workforce innovation: The collaboration with industry and technology partners, FoodXervices Inc., ST Logistics, JobKred and JobTech, will bring together sector expertise and resources, training platforms and skills intelligence tools. Through these efforts, this will allow companies to clearly assess workforce skills gaps, job redesign-reskilling opportunities and develop talent pipelines.
Ecosystem partners will support businesses in hiring smarter, accelerating employee upskilling, and preparing their workforce to adapt to evolving industry demands. Over the next year, the MOUs are expected to benefit around 700 wholesale trade sector companies and approximately 1,000 workers in the wholesale trade sector.
The signing of the MOUs took place at the “Navigating Future Uncertainties: Empowering Your Workforce to Thrive Through Change” event, graced by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development. The event brought together approximately 190 business leaders, C-suite executives and human resource professionals in discussion of strategies for strengthening workforce resilience amid evolving economic conditions.
Mr. Mark Lee, Vice-Chairman & Honorary Treasurer, SBF, said, “SBF is evolving how we support companies by bringing together workforce development ecosystem partners to curate solutions that match companies' needs. Leveraging SBF's Future Ready Business Readiness Index, workforce grants such as Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs), and the newly launched Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (EWTP), SBF will guide companies through integrated workforce transformation with clearer pathways and stronger support for job redesign and reskilling.”
AgroCorp International Pte. Ltd. and Future Electronics received the Wholesale Trade Sector Workforce Transformation Award jointly presented by SBF and Workforce Singapore at the event. The award recognises companies that have demonstrated strong commitment to workforce transformation through initiatives such as skills-first hiring, job redesign, employee reskilling and leadership development.
• AgroCorp, a Singapore-based global commodities trading company with operations across 13 countries and annual trade volumes exceeding 9 million metric tonnes, has worked closely with the JSIT-WST team to strengthen its workforce strategy through targeted hiring support and skills development.
• Future Electronics positioned a global leader in electronics distribution with a strong presence in Singapore and across the Asia-Pacific region, was recognised for its structured approach to reskilling, leadership development and job redesign to build a skills-first workforce that supports business growth.
Looking ahead, SBF will also launch two new leadership development initiatives under the SBF Business Institute (full details can be found in Annexes C and D):
• SBF-RSM ASEAN Market Leadership & Growth Programme: An AI leadership and transformation learning portfolio to help organisations adopt artificial intelligence across business functions.
• SBF x RSM AI Growth Accelerator: An ASEAN-focused leadership programme designed to equip business leaders with practical insights on internationalisation, cross-border operations, and regional market expansion.
Factsheets and key speeches can be accessed and downloaded in the media kit here.
