Number of Singaporeans who Have Not Yet Used SkillsFuture Credits
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the utilization of SkillsFuture credits and strategies to increase training participation. Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim inquired about the number of Singaporeans yet to use their credits and the engagement plans to encourage uptake. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee shared that over one-third of eligible individuals have used their credits as of 31 December 2024, noting that many others receive employer-sponsored training. He highlighted portal enhancements for personalized course recommendations and the availability of one-on-one skills advisory services. Additionally, SkillsFuture Singapore will partner with community organizations and the Labour Movement to help seniors and others purposefully navigate their lifelong learning journeys.
Transcript
46 Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked the Minister for Education (a) to date, how many Singaporeans have yet to utilise any SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) credits from any tranches; and (b) what additional engagement plans will SSG implement to encourage more utilisation.
Mr Desmond Lee: As of 31 December 2024, more than one-in-three eligible Singaporeans have utilised their SkillsFuture Credits.
The SkillsFuture Credit utilisation rate alone does not give a complete picture of Singaporeans' training participation rate. Many individuals have gone for training without tapping on their SkillsFuture Credit to offset the out-of-pocket training fees. For example, of the 550,000 individuals who participated in training supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in 2024, 241,000 were sponsored by their employers.
Our aim is to encourage individuals to plan and decide how they can use their SkillsFuture Credits meaningfully. Today, Singaporeans can use their base-tier credit for a wide range of skills-based courses, including in technology-related areas, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The additional-tier credit can be used for a subset of over 7,000 courses that target employability.
All eligible courses are published on MySkillsFuture portal and SSG continues to enhance the portal so users can more easily search for courses and receive personalised course recommendations that match their career goals, skills needs or interests. Individuals can refer to the jobs and skills insights published by SSG to guide their training decisions. Lifelong Learning SG also offers a one-on-one skills and training advisory to advise Singaporeans on what skills to pursue.
SSG will continue working with partners including Government agencies, such as the People's Association and Community Development Councils, as well as the Labour Movement and self-help groups to raise awareness of the SkillsFuture movement and how to use SkillsFuture Credit purposefully. Through these outreach efforts, we aim to better support seniors and individuals who might need more help in navigating the MySkillsFuture portal or signing up for relevant training courses using their SkillsFuture Credit.