Employees Will Be Encouraged to Upskill When More SkillsFuture Funding Is Available
Employees in Singapore will be encouraged to upskill themselves when more SkillsFuture funding is available.
Experts believe that tax reliefs and subsidised salaries are the way to incentivise employers. The benefit works both ways. With more employees picking up courses that will be beneficial for their careers, employers will reap the rewards too.
Comprehensive courses that target all the right skills are the way to go. Instead of only aiming for more budget-friendly courses, both employers and employees should be targeting courses that target all the right skills.
How the SkillsFuture Programme Works
When employers enrol a certain number of employees in courses, employers might be entitled to a tax write-off. Another potential benefit would be that employers won’t have to pay salaries during the duration of the course. Alternatively, there is also the option of subsidised salaries or reduced salaries.
The Singapore Government is willing to help on this front. One way of doing this is to invest more money into the SkillsFuture initiatives.
Investing in Singapore’s Future
Both employees and employers will be a lot more willing to pursue opportunities if there is no financial strain on them. The aim is to encourage employees to take up courses that are optimal for them instead of what’s affordable.
The workforce is always in need of more training. Hence the need for the SkillsFuture scheme. The overall aim of the program is to improve the country’s training ecosystem. Singapore is willing to invest in skills training, focusing on developing Singaporean specialists and leaders across the country.
The SkillsFuture scheme has a bottom line of making it possible for employees to invest their valuable time in training that matters. This is particularly for employees who are in their 40s and 50s.
However, it has been acknowledged that having employees take time off work to focus on training courses won’t be easy. Some experts believe that breaking down the courses into smaller or shorter bite-sized programmes could be the way to go. Especially if they are conducted online.