Actions to take
- Consider further skills training to improve your chances of getting employed.
- There are many subsidies for training, including SkillsFuture credits, Workfare Training Support, and the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund.
SG Enable subsidises training providers to develop and conduct work-related courses customised to persons with disabilities, to keep fees low for trainees. In addition, trainees may also be able to use SkillsFuture credits and/or Post-Secondary Education
Account (PSEA) to pay for the courses.
As of Jan 2016, all Singapore Citizens aged 25 and above will receive $500 of SkillsFuture Credits. It can be used to defray out-of-pocket course fees for approved courses.
These include courses customised for persons with disabilities supported by SG Enable. The credits do not expire and the government will provide periodic top-ups.
As part of efforts to encourage people to take ownership of their skills development, a one-off top-up pf $500 will be provided to all citizens aged 25 and above as at 31 December 2020. This top-up expires on 31 December 2025.
Responses to frequently asked questions on SkillsFuture credits can be found below:
WSS encourages low wage workers to undertake training that leads to more impactful employment outcomes.
Eligible individuals may receive:
- Training allowance for selected courses that individuals had paid for themselves
- A cash reward for completing training
To qualify for the scheme, person with disabilities must fulfil the following criteria:
- Singapore citizen age 13 years old or above.
- Employed and earning a gross monthly income of not more than $2,300 for the month worked for the past 12 months, and
- Fulfils the WIS eligibility criteria of housing annual value (AV), property ownership and spousal income. The WIS criteria of housing AV, property ownership and spousal income are as follows:
- Lives in a property with an annual value of $13,000 or less assessed as at 31 December of the preceding year
- Owns less than two properties
- If married:
- The individual and his/her spouse own less than two properties together; or
- The assessable income of the individual’s spouse for the preceding Year of Assessment is $70,000 or less.
Community funding
Persons with disabilities can also tap on community funding to cover the cost of training. For example, among other things, the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund (GCTEF) funds
the aspirations of persons with disabilities that are beyond their families’ financial means. This includes supporting them with course fees and other expenses related to their training.
Another community fund that persons with disabilities can tap on is the Temasek Trust-CDC Lifelong Learning Enabling Fund, which subsidises training fees and learning
support services for adults with disabilities. It seeks to ensure persons with disabilities acquire the relevant vocational and independent living skills and emerge stronger from the pandemic.