More tap SkillsFuture courses, amid support for mid-career workers

About 555,000 people participated in programmes supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in 2024, driven by a push to support mid-career workers.

- Gabrielle Chan

This is up from 520,000 individuals in 2023, said SSG in its yearly update on April 9.

SSG chief executive Tan Kok Yam said the increase was due to the support given to mid-career workers in 2024.

All Singaporeans aged 40 and above received in May 2024 a $4,000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up to refresh their skills and progress in their careers. The credit, which does not expire, can be used for more than 7,000 courses.

"More Singaporeans are taking courses that are designed for substantive employment outcomes," said Mr Tan, speaking to the media.

These courses include degree programmes by institutes of higher learning and SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme courses, which grew in number from 179 to 239 in 2024. These courses help mid-career workers transit into in-demand sectors.

Of the 555,000 participants in 2024, 260,000 Singaporeans used their SkillsFuture credits, up from 192,000 in 2023, SSG said.

These include credits from three tranches - the $4,000 mid-career top-up, the $500 opening credit given when Singaporeans turn 25, and the one-time top-up of $500 given in 2020 to those who were 25 and above that year.

The majority of these learners took up IT-related courses, in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security and digital marketing, the agency added.

About 28,000 Singaporeans used the mid-career top-up - making up around 1.3 per cent of more than 2.1 million people who have received it, said SSG.

This figure also accounts for 10 per cent of all SkillsFuture credit users, said SSG.

"This is an encouraging take-up rate, given that the initiative was introduced in May 2024 (and) is still relatively new," it added.

Mr Vinoth Nanda Kumaran, 41, is among those who used his mid-career top-up to make a career switch from logistics to data analytics.