20/10/2015

Applications For SkillsFuture Study Awards To Open On 20 October 2015

Over 500 awards from seven Government agencies will be open for applications from 20 October 2015 onwards

The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) today announced that applications for the SkillsFuture Study Awards will open from 20 October 2015 onwards.

First announced in the Budget 2015 statement, the SkillsFuture Study Awards will be made available to enable Singaporeans to deepen specialist skills for future economic growth sectors or areas of demand. The awards will also help employers in upskilling their Singaporean employees to strengthen their talent pool, enhance business performance and improve staff retention.

Over 500 awards will be available in the first phase of rollout starting from next week, and up to 2,000 awards will be available annually as they are progressively introduced for the different sectors. Each award is worth $5,000 and can be used to defray the recipients’ out-of-pocket expenses for their courses. The award is bond-free and can be used on top of existing Government course fee subsidies.

The first phase of rollout will cover eight areas of specialisation:

• Building and Construction Authority (BCA) – Built Environment
• Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) – Air Transport
• International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) – Internationalisation
• Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) – Maritime
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – Financial Services
• National Council of Social Service (NCSS) – Social Service
• SPRING Singapore – Food Services, Retail

The SkillsFuture Study Awards is open for applications by Singaporeans, and nominations by employers at www.skillsfuture.sg. Interested applicants should check with the relevant Government agencies on the sector-specific eligibility criteria. In general, applicants should:

• Have at least three years of working experience in the relevant sector
• Be committed to deepening skills in the sector
• Have a track record of contributing to the learning or training of themselves and/or others
• Not be a previous recipient of any SkillsFuture Study Award

Please refer to Annex A for more information on the supported courses, application periods and evaluation process for the sectoral SkillsFuture Study Awards.

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA, said: “The SkillsFuture Study Awards encourages early- to mid-career Singaporeans to embrace lifelong learning and strive towards skills mastery. This initiative also helps employers to build a strong and highly-skilled Singaporean core. We welcome both Singaporeans and their employers to tap on the SkillsFuture Study Awards to be future-ready and develop skills mastery, amid the fast-changing labour market and volatile economy.”

The SkillsFuture Study Awards is the latest SkillsFuture initiative to be rolled out. Visit www.skillsfuture.sg for more information.

Annex A: List of Sectoral SkillsFuture Study Awards