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SkillFuture $500 enough meh?

tomychua

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Article Source: https://goo.gl/tLJGpX

Why The S$500 Skillsfuture Credit Is Enough For You
Written by: Jacky Yap

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Starting from January this year, Singapore’s government has launched the widely discussed SkillsFuture Credit scheme. Under the scheme, all Singaporeans aged 25 and above will receive a S$500 SkillsFuture Credit which can be used on top of existing government course subsidies to pay for a wide range of approved skills-related courses. These include courses at polytechnics, universities, private institutes as well as from online platforms.

Since the announcement of the scheme, Singaporeans from all walks have life have started to leverage on the scheme to acquire skills to be more competitive in the workforce.

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While the intention behind the scheme is a good one, there are feedbacks saying that S$500 might not be enough. Here are some reasons why the S$500 SkillsFuture Credit is actually sufficient.

You can find plenty of courses cost under S$500

There are plenty of courses to choose from the SkillsFuture Credit courses directory, over 10,000 of them in fact, and you will realize that most courses cost under S$500. More often than not, these courses only take up 2 or 3 days of full time training, and usually you can be certified with less than S$500.

For example, the “27 Website Secrets That Get Visitors To Buy”, run by the Marketing Institute of Singapore costs S$480 for non member, and S$384 if you are a member. Another course, “An Introduction to the Fundamentals of the Personal Data Protection Act for Non-Legal Personnel” run by the Singapore National Employers Federation, only cost S$85 after the training grant.

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If you are using the SkillsFuture Credit, you can claim for the credit within 30 days before or 90 days after the course starts.

Courses that you should check out

Rather than looking at the absolute amount that the government is subsidising, another way to be future ready is perhaps to identify what kind of skills that would make you more competitive as compared to your peers. If you need some suggestions on what kind of courses that can give you a competitive edge, here are a few that might be beneficial to you:

a) Business Chinese
b) Photoshop
c) DJ techniques
d) Photography
e) Programming

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Take Sabrina for example, when Sabrina Ooi (24) took up Business Management at Singapore Management University, she never thought that she would one day be a part time DJ. When we spoke to Sabrina, agreed that having DJ as a second skill helps makes her a more interesting candidate for new opportunities or in meeting new people.

Most of these courses can be taken part time from local universities and they cost less than S$500. For some that might cost more, after the SkillsFuture Credit, they are kept at an affordable price range so that you can make the best out of the courses.

Online courses by Coursera

For those unfamiliar, Coursera is an “online university” which allows you to log into the website and take courses conducted online. What this means is that you will be able to access the lectures, the assignments and all the notes through Coursera from the comfort of your home. There are plenty of Coursera courses which are free.

If you’re interested in receiving a Course Certificate for a Coursera course, you will need to pay a fee; for some courses, this fee also covers full access to certain course features, such as graded assignments. Course fees range from about $20 to $130, way below the S$500 SkillsFuture Credit, depending on the course.

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Many courses are already highly subsidised by the government

Another reason as stated on the SkillsFuture website, S$500 is actually a sufficient quantum because a lot of courses are already highly subsidised by the government to ensure that training costs are affordable.

The SkillsFuture Credit can be used on top of existing course fee subsidies provided by the government. Most of us might not be familiar with this, take the Workfare Training Support scheme for example – training allowance is available for Singapore Citizens aged 35 and years and above and earning ≤ $1,900/month under the scheme so that they can upgrade themselves to be more competitive in the workforce.

Make no mistake, the economy downturn is looming, and we have written much about it here at Vulcan Post. When Singapore’s deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced the SkillsFuture scheme, he emphasised the need to foster and continually renew what he called deep skills that are critical for the next stage of Singapore’s economy.

“We must become a meritocracy of skills, not a hierarchy of grades earned early in life,” he said.

So if you are looking for advices on what kind of courses that will help you to improve your skills and to advance in your career, you can approach WDA Career Centres and e2i Career Service Centre if you need career and training advisory services.

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chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Fucking hell..course fee price adjust 1k up normal price. Give $500 still earn $500 extra. Which dumbfuck Sinkie sign up :confused:
 

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
Asset
You have to be a complete idiot to attend a photoshop course.
 

frenchbriefs

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Or u can give us $500 to buy 10 books which will give us 100 times more info that these twelve weeks course.people pay $20,000 for a real education,what can u learn from a $500 course other than the basics.
 

Papsmearer

Alfrescian (InfP) - Comp
Generous Asset
PAP give credit for this course, give credit for that course for fuck? In the end still cannot find a job due to massive undercutting of wages by the millions of FTs they let in. Better to tell the FTs to fuck off back to their homeland, and then sinkies will get the jobs. No need to give credit for any shit course.
 

Fishypie

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
I wouLd have preferred a $500 Singapore Pools' credit instead..:wink:
Can pia abit..
 

Narong Wongwan

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Some associates of mine have setup schemes to monetize the $500.
50-50 spilt that means you can get cash back $250.
You can also do recruitment at $50 commission per pax.
Interested pm me and I'll point you in the right direction.
 

frenchbriefs

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Some associates of mine have setup schemes to monetize the $500.
50-50 spilt that means you can get cash back $250.
You can also do recruitment at $50 commission per pax.
Interested pm me and I'll point you in the right direction.

How about $400 for $500 and I dont attend a single day of the course.
 
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