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Tech Talent Assembly Launches ‘Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook-Startup Edition’ to Strengthen Resilience and Growth in the Tech Sector
TTAB launches 'Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook' for startups & SMEs, guiding fair practices. Announces major partnerships with Alibaba Cloud and D:NEX Ventures to boost AI upskilling and talent readiness in Singapore.TTAB unveils ‘Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook-Startup Edition’, in collaboration with tech community partners to help guide both employers and workers in the tech start-up industry
TTAB Awards 2025 celebrates new partnerships with two MoU signings with Alibaba Cloud and DNEX Ventures Pte Ltd to drive digital upskilling, AI adoption and workforce readiness
TTAB awards are presented to honour 11 individuals and teams who exemplify the values that power Singapore’s tech sector — lifelong learning, empowerment, and inclusion
Singapore, 26 November 2025 – Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB), an affiliated association of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), today launched “Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook - Startup Edition”, a practical guide to be co-created with ACE.SG, to help Singapore’s tech start-ups and SMEs manage hiring, transitions and upskilling in a fair, human-centred way. The Playbook initiative was unveiled at the annual TTAB Awards 2025, where TTAB also formalised partnerships through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Alibaba Cloud and DNEX Ventures Pte Ltd (D:NEXA). The MoUs were signed by General Manager of Singapore Mr Choong Hon Keat and Executive Chairperson of D:NEXA Mr Mike Chiam, respectively. This was officiated by President of TTAB, Maxim Tint.
The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development & Information and Ministry of Health, and Advisor to Tech Talent Assembly, Mr Tan Kiat How, and was attended by close to 150 guests, including government agencies, corporate partners and award recipients.
Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development & Information and Ministry of Health, and Advisor to Tech Talent Assembly, Mr Tan Kiat How said: “I congratulate TTAB and its partners for the launch of the ‘Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook - Startup Edition’, and commend this initiative to strengthen the fair, progressive and inclusive employment practices across our tech industry, especially amongst start-ups. Ground-up, community-oriented effort like this Playbook is a unique tripartite strength of Singapore’s system where unions, industry and government come together to uplift capabilities of enterprises and the workforce, and creating better opportunities for our people. I look forward to more of such collaborations as we seize exciting opportunities in the digital economy.”
Supporting sustainable growth in Singapore’s tech start-up ecosystem
To build a more resilient tech workforce, TTAB unveiled the ‘Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook - Startup Edition’, to be developed in collaboration with ACE.SG. The Playbook will provide concise, practical frameworks and tools to guide both employers and workers across hiring, performance and transition moments with a particular focus on the realities of start-ups and SMEs. It aims to promote fair, transparent and human-centred employment practices and is designed for easy adoption by organisations with small HR functions.
The Playbook will be made available on NTUC and TTAB’s digital platforms. It will feature a dual audience approach that serves the founders, Human Resources (HR) and talent. As Singapore’s tech landscape continues to evolve, the Playbook underscores TTAB’s continued commitment to championing fair employment, skills development, and sustainable career growth.
Strengthening collaboration through strategic partnerships
Under the MoU with Alibaba Cloud, the partners will co-deliver a suite of initiatives, including workshops, technical bootcamps and curated learning pathways to accelerate AI adoption and digital upskilling among Singapore’s tech talent. The partnership will also include coordinated support for employers applying for NTUC’s Company Training Committee (CTC) schemes, with Alibaba Cloud and TTAB providing guidance on workforce training plans and success case studies.
Choong Hon Keat, General Manager of Singapore, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence said: “As we mark our 10th year in Singapore, we are deeply honoured by the recognition from Tech
Talent Assembly and excited to further strengthen our commitment to the local digital transformation ecosystem. This collaboration with NTUC represents our continued
dedication to empowering Singaporean businesses with cutting-edge digital solutions that drive innovation and sustainable growth.”
The collaboration with D:NEXA will focus on co-creating programmes that strengthen digital leadership and ethical AI practices across industry and startup ecosystems. Leveraging D:NEXA’s multi-sector network, the partnership will provide pathways for promising start-ups and practitioners to access mentorship, industry placements and sectoral learning opportunities.
Both partnerships underscore TTAB’s commitment to connecting the tech workforce with strategic ecosystem partners to promote ethical AI adoption, digital leadership, and to build a more resilient and future-oriented digital community across Asia.
Recognising Tech Leaders Who Champion Human-First Values
To recognise those who embody TTAB’s human-first values, the TTAB Awards 2025 honoured individuals and teams across three categories: the Tech Excellence Award for Lifelong Learning & Contribution, the Tech Ecosystem Champion Award, and the Tech Team Leadership Award. Winners were selected by a judging panel comprising independent tech community leaders, based on criteria related to impact, inclusivity and demonstrable practice.
With women now comprising about 40% of Singapore’s tech workforce, one of the highest proportions globally, TTAB aims to prove that tech excellence is not just about innovation, but about opportunity for all. Founded on the principles of continuous learning, mutual empowerment and unyielding inclusivity, the TTAB Awards are a call to action for all tech professionals in Singapore to uphold these values and nurture the next generation. The full list of awardees is available in Annex A.
President of TTAB, Maxim Tint, shared: “The launch of the ‘Tech Workforce Resilience Playbook - Startup Edition’ initiative is testament to TTAB’s commitment in building a more resilient and inclusive tech ecosystem, as well as helping our tech workforce navigate growth and change together. We are also excited to embark on our new partnerships with tech leaders, Alibaba Cloud and D:NEXA. Together, we will ensure that our workers remain adaptable, skilled, and ready to embrace future challenges. Congratulations to our awardees – I am inspired by their invaluable contributions to uplift our tech ecosystem and foster an inclusive environment.”
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About TTAB
Tech Talent Assembly (TTAB) is Singapore’s home for the nation’s tech workforce—a dynamic, diverse, and passionate community of over 7,000 strong. We are engineers, designers, innovators, leaders, learners, and dreamers. If you believe in the power of technology to shape lives and industries, TTAB is your family.
Our mission is simple yet bold: To nurture all tech talents via an accessible platform for future ready skills, and their employability through lifelong learning and sharing. This is to connect, empower, and champion every tech professional in Singapore. We strive to make tech careers more rewarding, sustainable, and future-ready for all, regardless of background, experience, or ambition.
Annex A
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Tech Excellence Award for Lifelong Learning & Contribution
Celebrates individuals who never stop growing and giving back, exemplifying a passion for continuous learning and a commitment to share their knowledge and skills to uplift others. |
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Awardees |
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Fu Xiao Hua As Head of Technology at YTL PowerSeraya, Xiao Hua champions bold learning and strategic innovation, driving cybersecurity excellence and future-ready transformation across the organisation. |
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Newson Ng Xin Sheng As a Principal Program Manager, Newson embodies continuous learning and collaborative innovation, he leverages emerging technologies to drive meaningful impact for his team and organisation. |
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Tang Yang Yong A key leader in Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, Tang Yang Yong is a champion of continuous operation excellence and resilience with his proactive mentorship and systemic integration of advanced competencies. |
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Tech Ecosystem Champion Award (Individual)
Honors the community builders and visionaries who strengthen Singapore’s tech ecosystem, fostering collaboration, inclusion, and support across companies and communities. |
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Awardees |
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Lee Kah How Founded by Lee Kah How during GovTech’s 2023 OGP hackathon, String has grown from a teacher-led experiment into a tech ecosystem empowering educators to build and adopt school solutions. In two years, it has supported over 3,000 educators, built an active community, and run programmes from pitch days to development courses. Kah How’s goal is to nurture a new generation of “edu-technologists” who create impactful tools for teaching and learning. |
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Ron Loh Currently the Assistant CEO of SPD, Roh transitioned into the disability sector after nearly two decades in engineering, driven by his belief that technology can greatly empower the disability community. A strong advocate for digital accessibility, he champions the creation of opportunities for persons with disabilities to contribute as tech talents, urging businesses to view technology not just as a productivity tool but as a bridge to an inclusive digital workforce. |
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Tech Ecosystem Champion Award (Organisation)
Honors the community builders and visionaries who strengthen Singapore’s tech ecosystem, fostering collaboration, inclusion, and support across companies and communities. |
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Awardees |
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Eric Okumu Korn Ferry Representing Korn Ferry in the Tech4Good partnership, Eric Okumu champions inclusive, future-ready organisational development, driven by decades of research, a commitment to diversity and continuous learning, and strong collaboration with public and community partners. |
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Timothy Goh Kok Aun Temasek Trust Ltd The Temasek Trust Technology and Digital Transformation team drives ecosystem-wide innovation by enabling shared digital platforms, fostering AI-powered learning, and empowering organisations to collaborate, connect and transform. |
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Tech Team Leadership Award
Recognises outstanding leaders who put people first, empowering their teams through mentorship, trust, and inclusive leadership to achieve technological excellence together. |
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Awardees |
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Ann Tey Siow Fong A pragmatic digital transformation leader, Ann drives people-centric innovation through emerging technologies, data literacy and ethical AI, empowering teams and inspiring the broader tech community. |
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Jon Lau As CISO of A*STAR and President of SingAREN, Jon leads with trust, mentorship and continuous learning, building adaptable cybersecurity talent while advancing innovation in AI, cloud and emerging technologies. |
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Mark Lim CL Mark champions a people-first, AI-empowered learning culture which drives mentorship, personalised upskilling and cross-functional collaboration to build a resilient, future-ready workforce. |
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Tech Partnership Champion Recognises organisations that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to developing the tech talent of Singapore through skills development, capability building and the thoughtful design of outcome-driven programmes. |
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Awardee |
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Alibaba Cloud Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group and a global leader in full-stack AI services, including its open-sourced Qwen family of AI models. Through initiatives like the Digital Accelerator Programme under IMDA’s Digital Enterprise Blueprint and the Alibaba-NTU Global e-Sustainability CorpLab, Alibaba Cloud is helping local SMEs adopt cloud and AI technologies and advancing digital sustainability research. |