SINGAPORE: Lower-wage workers paying their own way through substantial skills training can get support of at least S$ 300 ( US$ 225 ) and up to S$ 1, 500 a month from early 2026.
The Workfare Skills Support scheme, which currently offers allowances for short courses, will be expanded with a new tier targeting long-form training, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamed said on Friday ( Mar 7 )
Called Workfare Skills Support ( Level-Up ), it will give self-sponsored lower-wage workers in part-time training a fixed monthly allowance of S$ 300.
Employees in full-time education will get a monthly income of at least S$ 300, or up to half of their average monthly income over the latest attainable 12-month time.
To qualify, employees may be Singaporeans aged 30 and above earning an average monthly income of no more than S$ 3, 000, among other circumstances.
This means that lower-wage workers can get up to S$ 18, 000 a month for full-time education, and up to S$ 3, 600 a month for part-time training – a significant boost from the coaching allowance provided now.
Under the existing basic program, employers get pay assistance when workers go for teaching, while self-sponsored workers who pay for their own courses get an income of S$ 6 an afternoon.
Long-form courses– quite as Nitec, Higher Nitec, diplomas, post-diplomas and academic degrees – provide more robust education and greater opportunities for income growth, Mr Zaqy said.
The scheme is modelled after the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, which provides an allowance to mid-career trainees aged 40 and above. However, Workfare Skills Support ( Level-Up ) offers extended coverage, allowing up to 24 months of support before age 40 and an additional 24 months from age 40 onwards.
This is because workers in lower-wage jobs may require multiple rounds of training to transition into more complex roles or new industries, said Mr Zaqy.
” For lower-wage workers to put their newly acquired skills to good use, businesses must also transform lower-wage jobs for higher value-add and refine their processes for higher productivity”, he said. ”  , So upskilling is just one-half of the equation”.
Employers have already begun adopting technological solutions so that workers can take on higher-skilled and higher-value roles, he said.