SkillsFuture Credits to Cover Cost of Qualifying Examinations for Registered Patent Agents

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education (a) whether SkillsFuture Credits can be used to cover the costs of sitting for qualifying examinations to be a registered patent agent; (b) if so, to what extent can SkillsFuture Credits be used to cover such costs; (c) if not, whether the Ministry will consider working with The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore to see if SkillsFuture Credits can be used to cover such costs.

The qualifying examinations to be a registered patent agent are administered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). Candidates are typically sponsored by their employers for these examinations. For the small group of self-sponsoring candidates, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will allow individuals to use their base tier of SkillsFuture Credit to offset the cost of these qualifying examinations, as they are recognised by IPOS. The base tier comprises the $500 opening credit given to Singaporeans at age 25 and the one-off $500 top-up given to Singaporeans aged 25 and above in 2020.

We will continue to work with sector agencies to enhance the SkillsFuture Credit scheme to support Singaporeans in their professional development through industry-relevant training and certifications.