Applications for SkillsFuture Study Awards are now open

20 October 2015 at 1:43 am

File photo of Singapore central business district taken on 7 May 2014.

Applications for the first batch of SkillsFuture Study Awards, worth more than $2.5 million in all, are now open on SkillsFuture.sg, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) said on Tuesday (20 Oct).

Each SkillsFuture Study Award is worth $5000 and is used to defray the recipients’ out-of-pocket expenses for their courses.

First announced in the Budget 2015 statement, SkillsFuture Study Awards are made available to enable Singaporeans to deepen their specialist skills for future economic growth sectors or areas of demand.

Eight areas of specialisation are currently covered:

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
National Council of Social Service (NCSS) – Social Service
SPRING Singapore – Food Services, Retail

Currently, 500 awards will be rolled out in the first phase, with up to 2000 awards available annually. The award is bond-free and can be used on top of existing Government course fee subsidies.

Interested individuals can apply on the SkillsFuture website or be nominated for the award by their employers. Eligibility criteria can be found on the website, and vary according to each sector.

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."