SINGAPORE: Lower-wage workers paying their own way through substantial skills training can get support of at least S$300 (US$225) and up to S$1,500 a month from early 2026.
The Workfare Skills Support scheme, which currently offers allowances for short courses, will be expanded with a new tier targeting long-form training, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamed said on Friday (Mar 7)
Called Workfare Skills Support (Level-Up), it will give self-sponsored lower-wage workers in part-time training a fixed monthly allowance of S$300.
Workers in full-time training will receive a monthly allowance of at least S$300, or up to half of their average monthly income over the latest available 12-month period.
To qualify, workers must be Singaporeans aged 30 and above earning an average monthly income of no more than S$3,000, among other conditions.
This means that lower-wage workers can receive up to S$18,000 a year for full-time training, and up to S$3,600 a year for part-time training – a significant increase from the training allowance provided currently.
Under the existing basic scheme, employers get wage support when workers go for training, while self-sponsored workers who pay for their own courses get an allowance of S$6 an hour.
Long-form courses – such as Nitec, Higher Nitec, diplomas, post-diplomas and undergraduate degrees – offer more robust training and greater opportunities for wage growth, Mr Zaqy said.
The scheme is modelled after the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, which provides an allowance to mid-career trainees aged 40 and above. However, Workfare Skills Support (Level-Up) offers extended coverage, allowing up to 24 months of support before age 40 and an additional 24 months from age 40 onwards.
This is because workers in lower-wage jobs may require multiple rounds of training to transition into more complex roles or new industries, said Mr Zaqy.
“For lower-wage workers to put their newly acquired skills to good use, businesses must also transform lower-wage jobs for higher value-add and refine their processes for higher productivity,” he said.” So upskilling is just one-half of the equation.”
Employers have already begun adopting technological solutions so that workers can take on higher-skilled and higher-value roles, he said.
