Course Fee & Absentee Payroll Funding

Lower the cost of skills training with funding support from the Government

All locally registered or incorporated organisations in Singapore are eligible for course fee and absentee payroll funding when you sponsor your Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident or Long Term Visitor Pass Plus (LTVP+) employees for training courses funded by SSG.

To qualify for course fee and absentee payroll funding, your employees must meet the following criteria:

  • Be Singapore Citizens, Singapore Permanent Residents or LTVP+ holders

  • Trainee is not a full-time national serviceman

  • Courses have to be fully paid for by the employer

Find out more about the subsidies and funding opportunities below.

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A. Course Fee Funding

Baseline course fee funding is available to lower the cost when you sponsor your Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident, and Long Term Visitor Pass Plus (LTVP+) employees for training courses funded by SSG.

As an employer, you can enjoy up to 70% subsidy of course fees for courses offered by SSG-appointed CET Centres, and up to 50% subsidy of course fees for certifiable courses approved by SSG.

Eligibility criteria:

  • Your organisation must be registered or incorporated in Singapore

  • Non-business entities not registered with ACRA, such as Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and societies are eligible

  • Sole proprietorships which meet all the above criteria are also eligible

B. Enhanced Training Support for Small and Medium Enterprises (ETSS)

If your organisation is a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), you will receive an enhanced subsidy of up to 20%-points above the baseline course fee subsidies. This means you can enjoy up to 90% in total course fee subsidies (inclusive of the enhanced funding), for courses with the strongest manpower outcomes.

Eligibility criteria:

  • Your organisation must be registered or incorporated in Singapore

  • Your organisation’s employment size must not exceed 200, OR your organisation’s annual sales turnover must not exceed S$100 million

  • Sole proprietorships which meet all of the above criteria are also eligible

  • Non-business entities not registered with ACRA, such as VWOs and societies are eligible

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C. SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy (MCES)

Recognising that mid-career individuals may face greater challenges in undertaking training, the MCES is provided for Singaporeans aged 40 years old and above to upskill and reskill. As an employer, you will receive an enhanced subsidy of up to 20%-points above the baseline course fee subsidies. This means you can enjoy up to 90% in total course fee subsidies (inclusive of the enhanced funding), when you sponsor your mid-career Singaporean employees for SSG-funded certifiable courses.

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D. Absentee Payroll (AP) Funding

Absentee Payroll (AP) funding is a grant to help defray some manpower costs incurred when you send your Singaporean, Permanent Resident and LTVP+ employees for SSG-funded training. This is fixed at S$4.50 per hour, with a cap of S$100,000 for each organisation per calendar year.

Eligibility criteria:

  • Your organisation must be registered or incorporated in Singapore

  • Non-business entities not registered with ACRA, such as VWOs and societies are eligible

  • Sole proprietorships which meet all of the above criteria are also eligible

How to apply:

  • There is no need to apply for course fee funding as it is automatically computed and deducted from the course fee

  • Please declare your employees’ hourly salary information here to claim for absentee payroll funding

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