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The technology firm will grow its team of Intelligentisation Forward-Deployed Engineers through reskilling and new hires, as it launches a dedicated centre to support enterprise AI deployment.
NCS has launched its AI Mission Centre in Singapore, with plans to grow its workforce of Intelligentisation Forward-Deployed Engineers (iFDEs) from 100 to more than 300 within the next two years.
The expansion will involve reskilling existing employees and bringing in new hires. The iFDEs are domain experts and vendor-agnostic AI specialists who work directly with client teams to support the deployment of AI solutions across different sectors.
The launch was officiated by Guest-of-Honour Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information.
Sam Liew, CEO, NCS said the company wants Singapore to become a place where AI can be deployed at scale to strengthen industries, improve public services, and create new opportunities.
He added: “Our goal is to build AI capabilities that serve Singapore, and solutions that can make an impact around the world.”
The AI Mission Centre will bring together industry specialists, iFDEs, and AI platform teams to help organisations identify priority business challenges, redesign workflows, and test and deploy AI solutions securely in live operations.
It will also support the development of reusable products and capabilities from successful deployments, allowing solutions to be scaled across organisations and markets.
The centre will draw on NCS' Sunshine.AI suite of products and platforms. These include Sunshine.core, which provides a sovereign-ready foundation for building, operating, and governing enterprise AI agents, and Sunshine.commanderAI, which enables robots from different manufacturers to work together on real-world tasks.
Alongside the iFDEs, NCS will also deploy teams of AI Natives, referred to as "speedboats", to support client projects through rapid experimentation and development. Together, these teams and platforms will support the integration of AI into clients' digital workflows and physical operations.
NCS signs three AI partnerships across key sectors
To mark the launch, NCS signed three strategic MOUs with Changi Airport Group (CAG), the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Life3 Biotech, covering AI applications in transport, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
The partnerships will focus on developing and scaling solutions in the following areas:
CAG: The collaboration will enhance and scale iFerret, an intelligent runway surveillance system jointly developed by both organisations to monitor foreign object debris (FOD). The partnership will allow operational requirements to be developed and tested in real airport environments before the solution is deployed globally.
IMH: The partnership will combine IMH's clinical expertise with NCS' technology capabilities to explore digital solutions that support patient care and healthcare workers. One of the first initiatives is Bio-ID, an AI-powered facial recognition solution designed to strengthen patient identification and support timely awareness of safety considerations in inpatient care settings. IMH will validate the solution in its wards and provide feedback to refine the technology for potential use across other healthcare and care environments.
Life3 Biotech: The collaboration will focus on developing AI-driven biomanufacturing optimisation capabilities by integrating AI with advanced bioprocessing technologies. It aims to improve the production efficiency, scalability and sustainability of micro-organisms, while laying the groundwork for next-generation intelligent biomanufacturing infrastructure.
NCS steps up AI training and workforce development
Alongside its plans to expand the iFDE workforce, NCS is introducing several people initiatives to strengthen AI capabilities among its employees and contribute to Singapore's wider AI talent pipeline.
At the company-wide level, all NCS employees will receive AI fluency training covering areas such as prompt engineering, responsible AI and working with AI agents to improve productivity.
The company is also continuously upskilling more than 2,000 AI practitioners in advanced skills to build and deploy production-ready agentic AI solutions.
In addition, NCS is redesigning software engineering roles to bring business analysis, software development and testing capabilities together within more versatile, AI-enabled teams. This is intended to help accelerate the delivery of solutions to clients.
For early-career talent, the company said it is offering hands-on work-study programmes through Nucleus, Fusion and Ignite. These provide bond-free pathways for university, polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates respectively, with opportunities to develop practical AI skills from the start of their careers.
Together, the initiatives cover different stages of the talent pipeline, from building AI fluency among existing employees to equipping new graduates with practical skills and experience.
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Lead image / NCS Facebook
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