What To Do If You’re Out of SkillsFuture Credit

August03

Have you already used up your SkillsFuture Credit to attend courses during the pandemic lockdown?
We’re proud of you for making the effort to work on your personal and professional development!

However, now you find yourself running low on your Singapore SkillsFuture Credit.

Let us help you out!

Quick info on SkillsFuture Credit

MySkillsFuture is a one-stop career guidance and training online portal that aims to empower Singaporeans to carve their own career paths through lifelong learning.

The platform provides a variety of courses that you can pursue using the Singapore SkillsFuture Credit. You will be glad to know that a $500 opening credit was provided to every Singapore Citizen aged 25 years and above! To further encourage Singaporeans to take timely action to reskill and upskill to seize opportunities in the future economy, a one-off SkillsFuture Credit top-up of $500 was provided to every Singapore Citizen aged 25 years and above.

So all you need to choose SkillsFuture Credit eligible courses to use this credit.

With thousands of courses available at your fingertips, it’s safe to say that you have plenty of opportunities to upskill or even learn something new.

BUT…..

What happens when you’ve used up your SkillFuture Credit?

If you have run out of your SkillsFuture Credit, here are some other funding options that are available for you!

Skills Funding

SkillsFuture Singapore provides up to 50% course fee subsidy for Singapore Citizens (SC) and Singapore Permanent Residents (PR) for approved SkillsFuture courses. This will be applicable to both self-sponsored and company-sponsored applicants. Self-sponsored applicants can offset the remaining course fees using their SkillsFuture Credit. Eligible applicants can further benefit from other SSG subsidies of up to 70% such as ETSS and the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy. Applicants who are eligible need only pay the difference between the full fees (set by the University) and the government funding from SSG.

Only SC and PR are eligible for the funding. They must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the funding:

Applicants have not previously received a government funding for the same course
Applicants are required to achieve at least 75% attendance and pass any prescribed examinations/assessments or submit any course/project work (if any) under the course requirement
Applicants are required to complete all surveys and provide feedback related to the course

MCES Grant for Those Above 40

If you are a Singaporean aged 40 years and above, you can obtain a special grant for the MCES (Mid-Career Enhances Subsidy) provides support to ensure lifelong learning for those who are interested.

As the workplace continues to evolve, mid-career Singaporeans may face challenges, hence the government is committed to helping mid-career individuals with reskilling and upskilling.

If you are found eligible, you can get a subsidy for up to 70% on Skillsfuture subsidized courses.

Enhanced Training Support for SMEs (ETSS)

The Enhanced Training Support for SMEs (ETSS) offers additional support for SMEs in the form of higher course fee subsidies. SMEs enjoy Skills funding of up to 70% of the course fees when they sponsor their employees to attend courses supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).

So.. who can qualify for Enhanced Training Support for SMEs?

SMEs that meet all of the following eligibility criteria:

Registered or incorporated in Singapore
At least 30% local shareholding by Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents
Employment size of not more than 200 (at group level) or with annual sales turnover (at group level) of not more than $100 million

SME-sponsored Trainees:

Must be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents.
Courses have to be fully paid for by the employer.
Trainee is not a full-time national serviceman.

You may view the full terms for SME-Sponsored trainees here.

UTAP Fund for NTUC members

The UTAP Fund helps NTUC members to go for skills upgrading. It aims to encourage existing members to upgrade their skills or acquire new ones.

NTUC members enjoy 50% *unfunded course fee support for up to $250 each year when you sign up for courses supported under UTAP. NTUC members aged 40 and above can enjoy higher funding support up to $500 per individual each year, capped at 50% of unfunded course fees, for courses attended between 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2022.

*Unfunded course fee refers to the balance course fee payable after applicable government subsidies. This excludes material fees, registration fees, misc. fees etc.

To Sum It All Up

Now that you know that there are plenty of funding options available if you have no Singapore SkillsFuture Credit left, you have nothing to worry about.

All you need to do is go through the requirements and prepare for your future.

So take the next step!

At BELLS, we have a wide variety of SkillsFuture Credit eligible courses.

Check out our list of courses here https://bells.sg/courses-overview and don’t hesitate to reach out for any funding questions.