evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

AI Apprenticeship Programme (AIAP) — Singapore's National AI-Practitioner Training Pipeline

Singapore · Singapore · See the Singapore profile · See the Singapore profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 31% 60/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Singapore's AI Singapore and IMDA have run the full-time AI Apprenticeship Programme since 2018: cohorts grew from 13 to 66 apprentices per batch, over 60 industry partners host projects, and AIAP reports at least 70% of recent graduates receive job offers before finishing.

13
Apprentices per cohort, Batch 1 (2018)
66
Apprentices per cohort, Batch 20 (2025)
157
Applications, Batch 1
434
Applications, Batch 20
70+ %
Pre-graduation job offer rate (recent batches)
4,000 SGD
Monthly apprentice stipend
60+
Industry partners hosting projects

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
AI Singapore (AISG), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) & National Research Foundation, hosted at Nanyang Technological University
Period
Since 2018 (20+ batches, ongoing)
Keywords
Education, Workforce development, Higher education, Public-private partnership

Context

The AI Apprenticeship Programme (AIAP) is a full-time, government-backed national training pathway for AI practitioners, run by AI Singapore (AISG) and supported by the National Research Foundation, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), hosted on a Nanyang Technological University campus.

Activities

Apprentices receive a monthly stipend (SGD 4,000) through a two-phase structure: roughly three months of deep-skilling in AI engineering, followed by three to six months of real-world project work with industry partners. Selection is competitive and merit-based (a take-home technical assessment followed by a technical interview and group case study), and eligibility is restricted to Singapore citizens.

Results

The programme has run continuously since 2018 and has scaled substantially: Batch 1 received 157 applications and accepted 13 apprentices, while Batch 20 in 2025 received 434 applications and selected 66 apprentices — roughly a tripling in demand and a fivefold increase in cohort size. AIAP's own published outcome figures cite that at least 70% of recent apprentices secure job offers before graduating, with most of the remainder placed in full-time AI roles within six months. More than 60 organisations — including AWS, DBS, Grab, Shopee, HP and government technology agencies — partner with the programme to host apprentice projects.

Conclusions

In 2025, IMDA and AISG launched a companion track, the AI Apprenticeship Programme (Industry), expanding the model with new industry-funded practitioner slots as part of Singapore's National AI Impact Programme. Eligibility restricted to Singapore citizens bounds the programme's reach relative to open-access alternatives.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
AI Singapore (AISG), National Research Foundation, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), hosted at Nanyang Technological University, 60+ industry partners (including AWS, DBS, Grab, Shopee, HP)

Conditions for success

  • a funded monthly stipend enabling full-time participation
  • a two-phase design combining deep technical upskilling with real project placements at industry partners
  • a large, diverse industry partner network able to absorb growing cohort sizes
  • competitive merit-based selection maintaining a strong applicant-to-place ratio

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Similar practices you may find useful