Why 7 in 10 Singaporeans have yet to use S$500 SkillsFuture credit that expires end-2025

SINGAPORE: Unlike many others who have yet to tap their SkillsFuture credits, data analyst Randi Ang, 34, has used all of his credit on a course that allowed him to pivot to the technology sector from healthcare administration.

The accounting graduate first used his credits for a polytechnic diploma conversion course in web development and programming in 2017, before taking a career break to study for a master's degree in enterprise business analytics.

That allowed him to make the job switch in 2020. Earlier this year, he spent his one-off SkillsFuture credit top-up on a post-diploma certificate in enterprise big data management to deepen the skills he uses at work.

Despite being a SkillsFuture regular who has benefitted from lifelong learning, Mr Ang said the scheme is not without its challenges.

For Mr Ang, the biggest hurdle has been finding the time for learning, which required tough sacrifices on his part.

"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," he said.

Mr Ang is among a minority of Singaporeans who have tapped on a S$500 (US$385) SkillsFuture credit top-up that expires at the end of this year.

Others that CNA spoke to highlighted several quirks of the SkillsFuture system that discouraged them from using their credits on approved training courses.

A lack of time and difficulties finding suitable courses are among the reasons they gave, while workforce development experts also pointed to workers' doubts that training will pay off for their careers.

With less than a quarter of the year left, about seven in 10 people have not yet used the credit, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) said in response to CNA's queries.

As of September, more than 778,500 people have used the one-off credit. Mid-career workers aged 40 to 60 make up close to half of this group.

Popular areas of training include information and communications, food services and advertising, sales and marketing.

The one-off top-up was given to Singaporeans aged 25 and above in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. SkillsFuture credit can be used to offset fees for eligible courses on the MySkillsFuture online portal.

There are no plans to extend the deadline, said SSG. Courses must start and claims must be submitted by Dec 31 in order to make use of the one-off credit.

SSG noted that some Singaporeans may choose not to tap on the one-off credit "as they may not need it at their current stage of life, especially for those whose training needs are already well-covered by their employers".

For future training needs, Singaporeans can continue to tap on the remaining SkillsFuture credit that does not expire, as well as substantial government subsidies, said SSG.

The S$500 one-off credit top-up is separate from the first tranche of SkillsFuture credit of S$500, which all Singaporeans aged 25 and above receive and which will not expire.

Singaporeans aged 40 and above also receive a mid-career training allowance of S$4,000 in SkillsFuture credit that does not expire.

Last year, the number of Singaporeans who dipped into their SkillsFuture credit increased by 35 per cent from the previous year, to about 260,000 people.

ISSUES FACED BY LEARNERS

One learner facing problems using her SkillsFuture credits is Ms N, who only wanted to be identified by her first initial. In her late 30s, Ms N works in a corporate function in the manufacturing industry.

So far, she has used about S$150 of her SkillsFuture credit on a home repair and maintenance course.

This is despite looking for courses in law, nursing, corporate communications, teaching or finance. She told CNA she wanted a course suitable for graduates that would allow her to keep her skills current or develop a second area of expertise.

Ms N said that most courses related to her corporate function are offered through a professional development body and not SkillsFuture.

When there are relevant SkillsFuture-eligible courses, these require her to put in a significant time commitment as part of a university curriculum or pay part of the fees out of pocket.

She prefers modular courses because graduate certificates and master's programmes require "sustained effort within a relatively short period of time".

"(This) is difficult to do if you have a job with long hours, or an employer that is not flexible about giving no-pay leave to support further studies," she said.

"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 added.

"If it did that, the classes would be much more attractive even at their higher price point."

She also pointed to how the starting dates and availability of courses she was interested in were often not stated on the MySkillsFuture online portal.

Ms Eileen Ng, 33, is another learner who has had difficulty finding ways to use up her SkillsFuture credit.

The ski instructor recently started taking courses between ski seasons in Japan, when she is back in Singapore and not working. She has partially used her expiring S$500 credit to take first aid and singing lessons.

She considered other courses relevant to her work, such as stretching and injury prevention and rehabilitation. But these were either unavailable, held at unsuitable times of the year or required her to top up her SkillsFuture credit with cash.

Ms Ng said there was not enough "reliable information", such as ratings and student feedback, for her to commit to a course. She was also confused by the many similar course offerings on the MySkillsFuture portal.

She cited the example of similar courses listed with different prices. When Ms Ng enquired about this, she said she was told one listing included Goods and Services Tax and the other did not.

"And 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 asked.

Ms Ng added that when she was working full-time as a test engineer – a job she left in 2022 – she never sought time off for training because "it was obvious that there was no time for anything else".

"I have had three full-time jobs and they were all the same. The time allocated for tasks was almost always just enough and because of this, I had no time or energy left," she said.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS LIFELONG LEARNING

Asked about possible reasons why people are not using the SkillsFuture top-up, experts in workforce development pointed to attitudes that are not conducive for adult learning.

Some workers appear to be complacent about their skillsets and the outlook for jobs, said Mr Ives Tay, a workforce development consultant who has been in the field for more than 25 years.

"They don't seem to be very worried at this point of time about their employability," he said, pointing to global economic and political uncertainties and artificial intelligence as reasons to be worried.

Career coach Dr Yvonne Kong-Ho said that people are held back by a lack of clarity about what to study and the "return on investment" on learning.

In her experience, learners typically fall into three categories: those who love learning; those who learn to secure a job; and the rarest group, those who learn out of fear that their careers are in jeopardy.

"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 added.

Under Singapore's renewed social compact in the Forward SG exercise, lifelong learning has become a central strategy for economic resilience, said economic geographer Aidan Wong.

This means SkillsFuture is no longer a "back-up" but a "central platform" for enhancing the skills of the country's labour force.

"The competition for skills and labour will not abate – we need to encourage and facilitate the acquisition of broader and deeper skills, and this is best done through lifelong learning," said the Singapore Management University (SMU) assistant professor.

At SMU, Asst Prof Wong is part of a group of researchers studying how to develop dispositions for lifelong learning through the university's core curriculum.

Key traits that lend themselves to lifelong learning are "an adroit mind, mental dexterity and agility, creativity and innovation, willingness to develop wider and deeper skills, and an insatiable thirst for more knowledge and wisdom", he said.

WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE

Both Mr Tay and Dr Kong-Ho said that prospective learners could benefit from personalised coaching to first think through their career plans and intended learning outcomes.

Coaching could take place in-house, with Dr Kong-Ho suggesting that companies train human resource officers as learning and development coaches who can make training recommendations for employees.

The government could also identify "learning ambassadors" to provide peer support for those keen to pursue training, particularly mature workers who may have difficulties navigating the SkillsFuture system.

"We enable them. It's not about giving them the money and saying okay, go for it, I support you. I think we need to understand the psyche of the learner," she said.

SSG said that those who need help with identifying suitable courses or career and skills guidance can participate in free SkillsFuture advice workshops or one-to-one skills and training advisory sessions.

SSG has also implemented the Training Quality and Outcomes Measurement (TRAQOM) to get feedback from course participants on training quality and impact. Prospective learners can refer to TRAQOM ratings for courses on the MySkillsFuture portal.

But Mr Tay said that for deeper insights, feedback could be gathered through interviews with course participants, although he acknowledged this would require much time and effort.

He added that unscrupulous training providers can damage the reputation of the entire training ecosystem, and welcomed SSG's recent move to bar registered training providers from using third-party promoters.

On the disbursement of SkillsFuture credit, Dr Kong-Ho raised the possibility of providing the S$4,000 mid-career credit earlier, at the age of 35 rather than 40.

This is because many workers in their 40s are at a stage of life where they have additional responsibilities, such as caretaking, and are unable to take on training, she said.

Mr Tay questioned why the S$500 one-off credit needed to expire at all, because "people learn at their own time".

But for Ms N, the learner who has used S$150 of her one-off credit, she would prefer to cash out the remainder rather than rolling it over within the SkillsFuture system.

"I would like to be able to use this for courses that actually help my work and that I am interested in," she said.