Singapore organizations are building skills faster than they are redesigning work to deploy them, creating a “capability debt” or the cost of work evolving faster than the systems organizing it, according to a report released at Singapore Polytechnic‘s HR Learning Fest 2026.

The Capability Advantage — Redesign to Reskill for Competitive Edge, the fourth edition of the Job Skills Insight series by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP), features 335 HR professionals, business leaders, and workforce members across more than 40 sectors.

The report shows that Singapore’s persistent capability gap is not a skills deficit but an application deficit, the Singapore Polytechnic said in a statement last Friday. It also identifies three priorities: giving people managers stronger support and clearer mandates to translate learning into daily practice; establishing a shared understanding of transformation progress between leadership and HR; and closing the gap between endorsement and execution through stronger governance and job redesign.

At the same event, Singapore Polytechnic launched the Human Capital Collaboratory (HCC), a platform to help companies redesign work and build workforce capability. Built on Singapore Polytechnic’s engagements with close to 1,000 organizations over the past three years, the HCC follows a four-step pathway covering business challenge, work redesign, human capability, and sustained value.

It can support companies through job and workflow redesign, AI-enabled solutions, continuing education and training pathways, leadership development, and fair workplace practices, delivered through SP staff consultancy, student projects, and industry pilots.

Lucas Tok, Director of the School of Business at Singapore Polytechnic, said AI transformation is not only about adopting technology but about redesigning work so people can apply it effectively, and that a capability advantage is created when skills are supported by managers, clear ownership, and the right systems.

Singapore Polytechnic also signed memoranda of understanding with five partners at the event. The agreements cover: human capital capability development and leadership programs with the Singapore Human Resources Institute; skills-first workforce transformation and SME upskilling with the Singapore Business Federation; human resources technology and workforce transformation content with Omni HR; automation and workflow design curriculum with Workato; and logistics-sector capability building and job redesign with Pacific Integrated Logistics Pte Ltd.

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