SBF inks 11 MoUs to upskill wholesale trade under JSIT-WST

The initiative is expected to support around 700 firms and 1,000 workers.

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has signed memoranda of understanding with 11 partners to support employment facilitation, workforce development, and industry capability building in the wholesale trade sector.

The agreements were signed under the Jobs-Skills Integrator for Wholesale Trade (JSIT-WST) initiative.

Wholesale trade firms will be able to access services including career matching, training programmes, job redesign support, and workforce innovation initiatives through a single ecosystem.

Over the next year, the initiative is expected to support around 700 companies and 1,000 workers.

The wholesale trade sector contributes about 20% of Singapore’s nominal GDP, comprising over 50,000 firms, according to Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan.

Moreover, generative artificial intelligence and sustainability-related shifts increase the need to remain competitive, Tan said in a speech at the SBF's Jobs Skills Integrator for Wholesale Trade Event.

“This is where the JSIT-WST comes in. Think of this programme as our “training deck,” he added.

To date, the initiative has supported 952 companies, addressed 1,162 jobs, and trained about 650 workers.

By March 2027, the programme aims to engage more than 1,700 companies, address 1,200 jobs, and upskill or reskill 1,600 workers in the sector.