SINGAPORE, Oct 21 — Time is running out for Singaporeans to use their one-off S$500 (RM1,740) SkillsFuture credit, which will expire at the end of next year – but seven in 10 people have yet to tap it, according to online news site CNA.
The credit, given to all Singaporeans aged 25 and above in 2020 to support upskilling during the Covid-19 pandemic, must be used for courses that start by December 31, 2025, with claims submitted before that date.
Government agency SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) said there are no plans to extend the deadline, even though many Singaporeans have yet to use the funds, the newspaper reported today.
As of September, about 778,500 people have used the one-off credit, with mid-career workers aged 40 to 60 making up nearly half of this group.
That leaves around seven in 10 Singaporeans who still have not used their top-up, even as the clock ticks down on the 14-month deadline.
For some, the main hurdle is time.
“Some courses were three days a week after work – and barely swallowing down one’s dinner – with homework and tests, for a one-year period. I was quite burnt out,” data analyst Randi Ang, 34, who used his SkillsFuture credits to move from healthcare administration into the technology sector, told the Singapore-based news outlet
Others said it was difficult to find relevant or affordable courses on the MySkillsFuture portal, or that available classes clashed with work hours.
Another corporate professional in her late 30s identified only as N said the courses listed were often unsuitable or required heavy time commitments.
“SkillsFuture’s flaw is that it doesn’t encompass all classes available in the country and also doesn’t provide a value for money, curated and current catalogue of courses that are designed to be modular and built on and reinforced over time,” she was quoted as saying.
Some, like ski instructor Eileen Ng, struggled with unclear listings and limited information about course quality.
“Some courses are only for people who are enrolled in a full-time course in a school. Why would they do that to confuse people and waste my time considering it in the first place?” she told CNA.
The newspaper cited a career coach Yvonne Kong-Ho saying that Singaporeans are often unclear about what to study or whether the training will pay off.
“Our nation sometimes does not really celebrate the joy of learning. To them, learning means grades. Learning means, oh no, if I don’t do well, something punitive might happen,” she was quoted as saying.
According to CNA, Singaporeans who miss the expiry date will still have access to their regular SkillsFuture credits, which do not expire, and mid-career workers aged 40 and above continue to receive an additional S$4,000 credit for training.
