09/07/2016

SkillsFuture Study Awards Offered To About 349 Singaporeans For Skills Mastery

349 Singaporeans have obtained the SkillsFuture Study Awards in recognition of their efforts and continued commitment to skills mastery. They include individual applicants as well as employees who were nominated by their employers from across 13 areas of specialisation, ranging from air transport to infocomm technology to social service. The highest number of awards were offered to those pursuing skills deepening in financial, built environment and internationalisation as their area of specialisation.

These awards were given out by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Acting Minister (Higher Education and Skills) today at the inaugural SkillsFuture Study Awards Ceremony organised by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency. Applications for the awards opened in October 2015 to provide Singaporeans with the opportunity to deepen their skills in economic growth sectors or areas of demand. Each successful applicant will receive a monetary award of $5,000 which they can use to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with their training for skills mastery.

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA, said: “The SkillsFuture Study Awards is an integral part of the support available under SkillsFuture to help Singaporeans continuously deepen their skills and achieve skills mastery throughout their careers. The strong response we received for the awards and the total number of awards offered are a good indication that both Singaporeans and their employers see value in skills mastery, and that more individuals are taking ownership of their learning and career progression. This is vital as we seek to build a future-ready workforce with a strong Singaporean core.”

To-date, 17 sector agencies are offering the SkillsFuture Study Awards. We will continue to expand the number of awards available, including the sectors covered by the awards. Additional awards will be introduced by the end of 2016 in the logistics, tourism, as well as training and adult education sectors. The SkillsFuture Study Awards will also be extended to persons with disabilities and disability employment professionals later this year.

Singaporeans and employers may visit www.skillsfuture.sg/studyawards for more information on the various sector awards as well as application and nominations criteria.