SINGAPORE: A SkillsFuture initiative that provides an allowance to mid-career workers aged 40 and above taking up training courses will be expanded to include part-time programmes.
Starting early next year, workers enrolled in part-time training will get a fixed allowance of S$300 (US$220) a month to help defray their learning expenses, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his annual Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18).
The SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, first announced at last year’s Budget, aims to support mid-career workers in upgrading their skills. The programme includes a S$4,000 credit top-up and monthly allowances for those who take time off work to pursue full-time training.
For full-time courses, the allowance is set at 50 per cent of a person's average income over the latest 12-month period, capped at S$3,000 a month. Workers can receive up to 24 months of training allowance throughout their lifetime for both full-time and part-time training.
To better support lower-wage workers, the Workfare Skills Support scheme will be enhanced with training allowances modelled after the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme.
Currently, the scheme primarily funds short courses completed within a few days. Employers get wage support when workers go for training, while workers who pay for their own courses get an allowance of S$6 an hour.
But lower-wage workers “stand to benefit more from longer-form courses that provide more substantial reskilling and upskilling”, said the Prime Minister.
The scheme will be enhanced so that lower-wage workers aged 30 and above can qualify for monthly training allowance when they take up selected part-time and full-time courses, according to a factsheet issued by the Ministry of Finance.
More details for the SkillsFuture and Workfare Skills announcements will be given by the education and manpower ministries during their upcoming Committee of Supply debates.
Recognising the role of institutes for higher learning in lifelong education, Mr Wong said the Singapore Universities Trust will be extended by 10 years to support fundraising efforts by newer autonomous universities, such as the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and the Singapore Institute of Technology.
The trust was launched in 2010 to provide matching grants for donations over 20 years to support autonomous universities in building up their endowment funds.
The government will also support SUSS in developing a new city campus. It was previously reported that the country’s sixth university, which currently operates out of rented premises, was in talks with the government for a centrally located campus that it can call its own.
“This will enable SUSS to champion lifelong learning and deliver programmes with a strong social emphasis at an accessible location in the city for learners of all ages,” said Mr Wong on Tuesday.
To help businesses upskill their workforce, new and improved schemes will be introduced.
The SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant will consolidate existing schemes administered by Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore. Apart from simplifying the application process for companies, the new grant will provide up to 70 per cent funding support for job redesign activities.
The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit scheme, which helps employers defray out-of-pocket costs for enterprise and workforce transformation, will be revamped. Currently, companies must pay upfront for staff training and seek reimbursement. Some companies are also not aware of the scheme and how it can be used, said Mr Wong.
The scheme will be redesigned to work like “an online wallet”, allowing companies to check their credit balance and immediately offset eligible workforce transformation costs.
Businesses with at least three resident employees will get an additional S$10,000 in credits from the second half of 2026, valid for three years. Existing credits, originally set to expire this June, will be extended until the new credits are made available.
The government will set aside an additional S$200 million for the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Company Training Committee (CTC) grant.
The grant will also be expanded to support employer-led training that leads to formal qualifications or certifications, said Mr Wong.
The company training committees initiative was first launched in 2019 to help employers raise productivity by redesigning jobs and upskilling workers.
Since then, over 2,700 CTCs have been established, with almost four in five being in small- and medium-sized enterprises, said Mr Wong. NTUC has also supported more than 400 transformation projects benefitting over 7,000 workers.
Lastly, resources will be set aside to nurture and groom “Singaporean leaders” in the corporate sector.
More Singaporeans are taking on leadership roles in large firms and multinational corporations operating here, said the Prime Minister.
“We want to grow this leadership pipeline,” he said, noting that Singaporeans must gain overseas experience, be it in managing operations in different countries or navigating diverse cultures, to compete for leadership roles that come with regional and global responsibilities.
Existing schemes that support companies in sending Singaporeans for overseas work postings and leadership milestone programmes will be scaled up, with more details to be provided at a later date by the Ministry for Manpower.
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Starting early next year, workers enrolled in part-time training will get a fixed allowance of S$300 (US$220) a month to help defray their learning expenses, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his annual Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18).
The SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, first announced at last year’s Budget, aims to support mid-career workers in upgrading their skills. The programme includes a S$4,000 credit top-up and monthly allowances for those who take time off work to pursue full-time training.
For full-time courses, the allowance is set at 50 per cent of a person's average income over the latest 12-month period, capped at S$3,000 a month. Workers can receive up to 24 months of training allowance throughout their lifetime for both full-time and part-time training.
To better support lower-wage workers, the Workfare Skills Support scheme will be enhanced with training allowances modelled after the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme.
Currently, the scheme primarily funds short courses completed within a few days. Employers get wage support when workers go for training, while workers who pay for their own courses get an allowance of S$6 an hour.
But lower-wage workers “stand to benefit more from longer-form courses that provide more substantial reskilling and upskilling”, said the Prime Minister.
The scheme will be enhanced so that lower-wage workers aged 30 and above can qualify for monthly training allowance when they take up selected part-time and full-time courses, according to a factsheet issued by the Ministry of Finance.
More details for the SkillsFuture and Workfare Skills announcements will be given by the education and manpower ministries during their upcoming Committee of Supply debates.
Related:
SUPPORT FOR INSTITUTES OF HIGHER LEARNING
Recognising the role of institutes for higher learning in lifelong education, Mr Wong said the Singapore Universities Trust will be extended by 10 years to support fundraising efforts by newer autonomous universities, such as the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and the Singapore Institute of Technology.
The trust was launched in 2010 to provide matching grants for donations over 20 years to support autonomous universities in building up their endowment funds.
The government will also support SUSS in developing a new city campus. It was previously reported that the country’s sixth university, which currently operates out of rented premises, was in talks with the government for a centrally located campus that it can call its own.
“This will enable SUSS to champion lifelong learning and deliver programmes with a strong social emphasis at an accessible location in the city for learners of all ages,” said Mr Wong on Tuesday.
HELPING ENTERPRISES TO TRANSFORM THEIR WORKFORCE
To help businesses upskill their workforce, new and improved schemes will be introduced.
The SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant will consolidate existing schemes administered by Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore. Apart from simplifying the application process for companies, the new grant will provide up to 70 per cent funding support for job redesign activities.
The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit scheme, which helps employers defray out-of-pocket costs for enterprise and workforce transformation, will be revamped. Currently, companies must pay upfront for staff training and seek reimbursement. Some companies are also not aware of the scheme and how it can be used, said Mr Wong.
The scheme will be redesigned to work like “an online wallet”, allowing companies to check their credit balance and immediately offset eligible workforce transformation costs.
Businesses with at least three resident employees will get an additional S$10,000 in credits from the second half of 2026, valid for three years. Existing credits, originally set to expire this June, will be extended until the new credits are made available.
Related:
COMPANY TRAINING COMMITTEES
The government will set aside an additional S$200 million for the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Company Training Committee (CTC) grant.
The grant will also be expanded to support employer-led training that leads to formal qualifications or certifications, said Mr Wong.
The company training committees initiative was first launched in 2019 to help employers raise productivity by redesigning jobs and upskilling workers.
Since then, over 2,700 CTCs have been established, with almost four in five being in small- and medium-sized enterprises, said Mr Wong. NTUC has also supported more than 400 transformation projects benefitting over 7,000 workers.
Lastly, resources will be set aside to nurture and groom “Singaporean leaders” in the corporate sector.
More Singaporeans are taking on leadership roles in large firms and multinational corporations operating here, said the Prime Minister.
“We want to grow this leadership pipeline,” he said, noting that Singaporeans must gain overseas experience, be it in managing operations in different countries or navigating diverse cultures, to compete for leadership roles that come with regional and global responsibilities.
Existing schemes that support companies in sending Singaporeans for overseas work postings and leadership milestone programmes will be scaled up, with more details to be provided at a later date by the Ministry for Manpower.
Related:
Continue reading...