Are you a Singaporean over the age of 25? If you are, you will almost certainly receive a $500 credit injection into your SkillsFuture account, which you will use to fund any courses you choose to take to learn new and appropriate skills for your career advancement. So, what exactly is SkillsFuture, and what exactly is all the fuss about?
Here’s all you need to know about SkillsFuture and more because if you don’t, you’re going to be severely disadvantaged.
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What exactly is SkillsFuture?
It’s a national movement, a program that spans the entire world, and we mean nationwide when we say that. SkillsFuture caters to people at all levels of life, from elementary school to mid-career employees. SkillsFuture aims to provide all Singaporeans with the opportunities they need to achieve their full potential in life, whether they have a bachelor’s degree, an ITE certificate, or a diploma. There’s something for everyone, and this movement aims to give you the skills you need to succeed.
ECG in Schools (Education and Career Guidance)
Knowledge, in our view, is an important aspect of SkillsFuture. We may desire to learn new skills or the financial means to pursue whatever interests us, but we never get started because we are unsure of what to pursue. The ECG assists students in determining and understanding the types of occupations they want to pursue and plan their education to achieve their goals. How many of us studied blindly, only to be disappointed when we entered the workforce and realized we had no idea what we wanted to do with our lives?
Internships and skills are improved.
Earn and Learn in the Future
Fresh graduates used to come out of school asking for a pittance in starting pay, only to discover that much of what they learned in school is now obsolete. Students from Polytechnics and ITEs will be given meaningful job assignments, rather than the current situation where only a few students fully experience the industry. At the same time, the majority are typically taken up and given menial work, which will help them graduate with the requisite soft and technical skills.
Furthermore, with the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Program, recent Polytechnic and ITE graduates are placed with an employer and begin formal training and coursework while earning a wage. This means that they are well-trained and have the expertise they need to succeed in the industry.
Individual Portfolio of Learning (ILP)
For all Singaporeans to manage and monitor their job, education, and training, the ILP serves as a one-stop portal for career and education guidance. This portal gives you the power and freedom to make educated decisions about your career growth, and depending on where you are in your career (student, early career, mid-career), it can provide a variety of resources such as identifying ability gaps, knowing the criteria for getting into your dream work, and identifying skills to learn to advance in your profession. There will be no more stumbling around, waiting for employers to send you to classes that teach you non-transferable skills.
Place-and-Train Program Enhancement (P-Max)
P-Max pairs SMEs searching for PMEs with PMEs looking to work in SMEs, similar to the SkillsFuture Gain and Learn Program for Polytechnic and ITE fresh graduates. Both SMEs and PMEs will receive instruction, and if the SME is successful in keeping the PME in the program, the organization will receive a one-time grant of S$5,000.
SkillsFuture Credit
Now we’ve reached the most critical part of the article: your S$500 SkillsFuture account credit. The credit will not expire, and the government will top up the account regularly, allowing you to roll it over before you find a course you prefer. According to the website, there seems to be a large range of courses available for you to learn skills vital to your company’s career development or skills that are transferable and make you more competitive in the job market, such as digital marketing SkillsFuture and google analytics SkillsFuture.
Not just that, but there’s more. It’s just the tip of the iceberg, as there are plenty of other opportunities, such as bond-free research awards and fellowships, as well as leadership advancement.
If you do, you’ll be astounded by the wealth of resources available to Singaporeans who want to develop their skills and become more competitive in the industry. We’ve written about how many of us are missing out because we’ve stopped growing and improving after graduating from high school. If you share our sentiments, then this is one resource you won’t want to overlook.
