Technology’s impact on the workforce landscape is dramatic worldwide. Without enough funds, things get even tougher. Jobs and even entire industries may become obsolete in just the blink of an eye.
Imagine studying for almost twenty years of your life and then working for another five to build your career. Relying on this fragile stability, you finally settle down and create a family. Things can always change for the worst, though.
If you become complacent and don’t keep up with the new inventions in your industry, you can be demoted. Even worse, your whole position becomes irrelevant, and you’re retrenched. If you only know how to do one job, you will struggle to find employment.
That’s why the government has developed the SkillsFuture platform. Each Singapore citizen over 25 years old receives $500 in credits for classes.
Learn how to use this money wisely – otherwise, you’ll be wasting a significant chance. Also, to get extra cash for any of your daily needs, CreditMaster offers affordable financial plans for you.
Luckily, this article guides you through all the essential info so you can find and apply for the right SkillsFuture course.
SkillsFuture amasses several programmes to help everyone upgrade their professional skills:
Programme | Audience | Description |
---|---|---|
Enhanced internships | Poly and ITE students | Well-organised internships to gain more work experience |
SkillsFuture Series | General | Targeted training sessions in the most sought-after modern industries (e.g., the digital sector, analytics, tech, finance, etc.) |
MySkillsFuture | General | Online portal to manage your education and training goals |
SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme | Fresh grads from ITE and poly, plus employers | Employers get subsidies to develop on-the-job training programmes for fresh grads. |
SkillsFuture Work-Study Degree Programmes | University students | On-the-job training opportunities at specific companies |
TechSkills Accelerator (TeSa) | ICT graduates + professionals | Digital skills for ICT professionals and graduates, split into seven programmes for various levels/interests |
Young Talent Programme | University and poly students | Allowance for working abroad |
SkillsFuture Study Awards | Entry and mid-level workers | $5,000 grant for workers who want to learn new skills in economic-growth sectors |
Education and Career Guidance | Secondary school students | Career and education counselling |
P-Max | SMEs and PMEs | SMEs receive matching PMEs, HR & communication training, plus a $5,000 grant when finishing this programme |
SkillsFuture Career Advisors Programme | Working adults | Career counselling |
SkillsFuture Credit | Singaporeans over 25 years old | $500 in credit for SkillsFuture education and courses |
SkillsFuture Advice | Working adults | Programmes and workshops to develop your career |
SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace | Working adults and employers | Tech and digital skills in several industries |
Skills Framework | Working adults and employers | Database with relevant info on sectors, employment, job roles, and necessary skills, plus the list of training programmes |
SkillsFuture Qualification Award | Working adults | Cash prizes for WSQ qualifications |
SkillsFuture Fellowships | Mid-career workers | Fellowships for people with a minimum of 10 years of experience |
SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy | Workers aged 40 and above | Subsidises up to 90% for SkillsFuture-approved courses |
iN.LEARN 2020 | Employers | Training for companies and people in innovation for learning design, development, and blended learning |
SkillsFuture Employer Awards | Employers | Prize for employees who implement a skills-development and learning culture |
SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative | Employers | In-house programmes to create leaders |
SkillsFuture SME Mentors | SMEs | Mentorship for SMEs |
Training and Adult Education Sector Transformation Plan (TAESTP) | Providers and professionals in the training and adult education sector | Helps TAE providers to use SkillsFuture in the training programmes offered to Singaporeans |
From the slew of SkillsFuture programmes and opportunities above, the SkillsFuture credit is the most appealing to Singaporeans. Let’s see what it can offer you:
Most SkillsFuture courses are more expensive than $500, so be careful what you’re using this money for.
If you need to top up funds for your course, you can consider taking a fast cash loan with reliable financial instititions.
Luckily, SkillsFuture has streamlined the credit submission process within seven simple steps:
The steps above tell you that you need to choose a course before asking for credit. That brings us to the following point:
We include this section because the SkillsFuture website doesn’t win any prizes for user experience. It’s not the most intuitive website out there, and you’ll soon find yourself swamped in an ocean of information on the Training Exchange Page.
Yes, this is the page you must visit to get that perfect SkillsFuture course.
Your first step is smoothly scrolling to the search bar, where you can filter the courses according to the variables below:
The only missing filter that would have been extremely useful is the courses’ validity date. Instead, you have to click on each class to determine when the claim period runs out.
Each course features information on:
The best SkillsFuture Courses depend on your interests and career goals. However, it’s wise to choose a practical area of study that can actively support your goals.
You can pick a course to upskill your current knowledge or learn something completely new. Either way, ensure the class can create better opportunities for you in the workforce – and we can’t stress that enough.
Here are some popular options:
The course provided by APPS PTE. LTD. costs $1500 and stretches for 24 hours in a part-time training mode. The training is in English and addresses people who want to learn programming fundamentals.
After finishing this course, you’ll be able to:
This course is available until the end of February 2023. In just eight hours and a part-time mode of training, you’ll learn to create and change your e-commerce website. This course is helpful if you have an online store or want to upskill your marketing abilities to e-commerce website creation.
You will learn how to:
Best of all, the course only costs $390 – so you can cover its entire price using SkillsFuture credit.
Offered by the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the Customer Service & Quality Course only costs $430.
After this course, you will learn how to address your customers’ needs by speaking their language. As a result, you will enhance customer retention and loyalty. Even better, you’ll learn how to deal with demanding customers.
You can’t apply on the SkillsFuture platform for the course you want to do; you’ll have to get in touch with the course provider.
It’s easy: Just click on their name on the SkillsFuture course page to find their official website. Go to their website to see other helpful contact information to enrol.
The real problem begins when you find an expensive course you love.
Some AI, machine learning, and healthcare programmes cost somewhere in the four to five-figure range. That price can be discouraging if you have an entry-level salary or looking at being retrenched.
Don’t be disheartened! There are always ways to go around it.
Here are your solutions:
A $10,000 loan with a reasonable $300/month installment will help you get from a $20,000 yearly income to $50,000 and above. Credit Master offers some of the lowest interest rates for study loans in Singapore, along with fast disbursement and flexible repayment plans. Also, if you’re facing retrenchment or any financial urgency, we have streamlined quick emergency loans to get you through these challenging times.
You may apply for a short-term study loan here.