Beginner AI courses come to community clubs (CCs) from November 2026, at S$7 a session for the first year. The People’s Association (PA) unveiled the courses, called AI @ Your Neighbourhood, at its Community Seminar at Our Tampines Hub on 10 October, together with a voice assistant for its onePA booking site and a robot concierge for CCs.
The full fee is S$10 a session. A 30 per cent discount from November 2026 to October 2027 brings it to S$7. Sign-ups are on the onePA website, and the courses reach CCs islandwide in stages.
Short courses for people new to AI
PA has 25 courses so far, built with its training providers, and plans to add more as AI tools change. They are bite-sized and hands-on, and aimed at residents with little or no exposure to AI, such as seniors, homemakers and employees, rather than the working professionals most commercial AI courses are built for. The target is 10,000 residents.
Course titles include “AI Made Simple: Everyday Digital Life Skills”, “Photography & Photo Enhancement with AI” and “Your AI Travel Buddy: Explore More, Stress Less”. Pilot runs over the past two months were held at Buangkok, Bukit Batok East and Geylang Serai CCs.
For Ms Dorothy Villanueva, 63, who took a pilot class at Geylang Serai CC with two friends she often travels with, the change is in who plans the trip: “I usually leave the planning with AI to my children, but after the course, I feel more confident doing it myself.”
AI Singapore, Micron Technology, NTUC LearningHub, the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Tata Consultancy Services and Zero Gravity are among the partners running separate AI workshops for residents with PA.
A voice assistant for onePA by early 2027
On onePA today, residents type keywords to find, book and pay for programmes and facilities. The AI Voice Assistant on onePA lets them say what they want in their own words, in English, Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. It recommends programmes and facilities based on their interests and live availability, then takes them through booking and payment. The launch is expected by early 2027.
A robot concierge at Punggol North CC
The PA Community Robot is a roving, AI-enabled concierge that residents talk to or tap. It suggests activities at the CC, helps plan them to fit a resident’s interests and schedule, and walks people to an activity room or from nearby areas to the CC. Residents who need more help can reach CC staff live through the robot. The pilot starts at Punggol North CC in the first quarter of 2027, with more CCs to follow.
Less paperwork for grassroots volunteers
PA already uses AI in vendor selection, grassroots procurement and payments. A volunteer can describe what a community event needs and get recommended options, and payment systems read invoices and fill in the fields automatically. The initiatives sit under PA’s Community 2030 plan, and PA will train grassroots leaders and volunteers to use AI in their community work.
