Debated in Parliament on 4 Jan 2021.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked the Minister for Education (a) to date, what is the percentage of SkillsFuture credits utilised; (b) what is the redemption rate per age group (25-45, 46-65, 66 and above); (c) how will the Ministry encourage Singaporeans in the lowest redemption group to tap upon their SkillsFuture credits for learning.
As of end-August 2020, about 600,000 or 23.5% of eligible Singaporeans had utilised their SkillsFuture Credit (SFC).
The latest available data for the breakdown by age groups is as of end-2019. The percentage of older Singaporeans (aged 60 and above) who had used their SFC was about 16%. For Singaporeans in the other age groups (i.e. 25 to 39 years old, and 40 to 59 years old), it was around 22%. Overall, about 540,000 or 20% of eligible Singaporeans had utilised their SFC by the end of 2019.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) works with various partners to run community outreach initiatives like the SkillsFuture Advice workshops or webinars, which help to raise awareness of SkillsFuture initiatives like the SkillsFuture Credit. To provide more personalised guidance to Singaporeans, SSG also works with Government agencies, unions and self-help groups to provide Skills and Training Advisory services at job fairs, workshops, community events and other touchpoints. These services seek to signpost Singaporeans towards courses that support their desired career and job outcomes.
Specific to older Singaporeans, SSG also works with partner agencies to ensure that there is a suitable range of SkillsFuture Credit-eligible courses to cater to their upskilling needs. This includes IT courses offered by the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) Silver Infocomm Junction and courses supported by the National Silver Academy, as well as courses in mother tongue languages.
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