690,000 S'poreans have used $500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up
About 690,000 Singaporeans, or 26 per cent of those who are eligible, have used their one-off SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) top-up given in 2020.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) gave these figures in a statement on Dec 3 in response to queries from The Straits Times about the one-off $500 credit top-up, which was issued to all Singaporeans aged 25 and above in October 2020 to support their training and development.
The credits will expire on Dec 31, 2025.
More individuals between the ages of 40 and 49 used the top-up from October 2020 to Nov 26, 2024, with 31 per cent doing so, compared with 21 per cent of those aged 60 and above.
About 30 per cent of those across the other age groups – 25 to 29, 30 to 39 and 50 to 59 – have used their credits.
This is separate from the first $500 tranche of SkillsFuture credits that Singaporeans get when they first turn 25. Those aged 40 to 60 as at Dec 31, 2020, were given an extra $500 credit as mid-career support. Neither of these credits will expire.
Similarly, on May 1, 2024, Singaporeans aged 40 and above were provided with an additional $4,000 credit. This new credit can be combined with any remaining mid-career credit previously given.
The top three areas of training that SkillsFuture credits are used for are information and communications, food and beverages, and security and investigation, said SSG, which is the national body for skills development.
In its statement, the agency reminded learners to be “clear of their learning objectives when signing up for a course, rather than to do so in response to pressure by marketing agents”.
“Also, be aware that training providers are not allowed to offer cash or other incentives to incentivise the public to sign up for SSG funded or supported courses,” it said, adding that a company which offers incentives is violating SSG’s terms and conditions.
If the public comes across such training providers, they can provide feedback at skillsfuture.gov.sg/feedback to help “weed out such bad practices that are not in the public’s interest”, SSG said.
In November, SSG said that it would be suspending training provider FirstCom Academy for three months for using a referral programme for marketing.
The company, which provides courses in areas ranging from digital marketing to people management, will be suspended from Jan 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025.
Funding subsidies for all its courses that start within this period will be suspended, and these courses will not be eligible for government course fee subsidies or SkillsFuture Credit usage.
This came after SSG’s investigations into its marketing practices and course quality following “numerous public feedback”.
Eligible courses can be found on MySkillsFuture Portal, with more information on relevant courses available in the agency’s Skills Demand for the Future Economy report, which will be released in January 2025, said SSG.
“Singaporeans who require further career and skills advisory can sign up for SkillsFuture Advice sectoral workshops and one-on-one Skills and Training Advisory with Skills Ambassadors,” the agency added.
In 2023, about 520,000 people participated in SSG-supported training programmes in 2023, down from 560,000 in 2022.
The same year saw more employers sponsoring their workers for training – about 23,000 companies sent 228,000 workers for such training, up from 20,000 companies and 168,000 workers in 2022, said the agency.
Of the overall number of people who tapped SSG training programmes, around 200,000 were mid-career workers, up by 28 per cent from 2022.
Currently, there are 7,000 courses eligible for mid-career SkillsFuture Credit, ranging from full qualification programmes like Higher Nitec to postgraduate degree programmes, to MOE-subsidised full qualifications from University of the Arts or arts institutions.
Courses that are eligible for SFC (Mid-Career) will carry a “SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career)” tag under the Keyword Tags section on the course overview page.
“Courses are available to help a learner broaden their awareness of emerging skills, deepen their skills in their current profession, or transit to a different growth sector in the economy,” said SSG.
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