Fewer people tap SkillsFuture programmes but employer participation increases

Fewer people took part in training programmes supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in 2023, compared with a year ago.

- Gabrielle Chan

Figures from SSG showed that about 520,000 people participated in SSG-supported training programmes in 2023, down from 560,000 in 2022.

At the same time, 2023 saw more employers sponsoring their workers for training - about 23,000 companies sent 228,000 workers for such training, up from 20,000 companies and 168,000 workers in 2022, said the agency in its yearly update on March 22.

Of the overall number of people who tapped SSG training programmes, around 200,000 were mid-career workers, up by 28 per cent from 2022.

Mr Tan Kok Yam, chief executive of SSG, said that the fall in the number of people participating in SSG-supported programmes is due to the tighter labour market, where there is less pressure to upskill as compared with the Covid-19 period.

But he added that the increase in companies sending their workers for training programmes is encouraging, with 97 per cent of them being small and medium-sized enterprises.