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SINGAPORE: SGUnited’s Jobs and Skills Package will receive an additional boost of S $ 5.4 billion to support the hiring of 200,000 locals this year and provide up to 35,000 internship and training opportunities, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Tuesday (16 February).
The support package was first launched in May last year to select 100,000 opportunities to help Singaporean workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 76,000 people have been placed in jobs, internships, adjuncts and skills training opportunities at the end of December, Heng said during his budget speech.
Amid the transformation of companies and industries, as well as the emergence of new growth areas, people will need new knowledge and skills.
The additional boost, on top of the S $ 3 billion allocated to the jobs and skills package last year, will help workers accept new jobs, said Heng, who is also finance minister.
READ: Budget 2021: Extended employment support program for the most affected sectors as part of the S $ 11 billion package
SUPPORT TO THE HIRING OF PREMISES
Most of the additional funds, S $ 5.2 billion, will be used to extend the Job Growth Incentive (JGI) for seven months.
Currently, under the JGI, companies that hire local workers from September last year to February this year will receive a 25 percent subsidy of the first S $ 5,000 of their gross monthly wages.
With the plan now extended until the end of September this year, companies will receive up to 12 months of salary support, Heng said.
Those who hire mature workers, people with disabilities and ex-offenders will receive further help of up to 18 months of enhanced salary support, he added.
READ: 33,100 job applicants placed in jobs, internships and training opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package
Other programs in the SGUnited job and skills package, namely the SGUnited Skills, SGUnited Traineeships and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways programs, will also be extended one year to March 2022 to provide workers with additional support before landing a job.
For example, the SGUnited Traineeships program, which is aimed at recent graduates, will be expanded to support new job applicants from the 2021 graduate cohort.
Starting in April this year, the stipend for ITE internships will be raised to a range of S $ 1,600 to S $ 1,800, and S $ 1,100 to S $ 1,500, to encourage acceptance.
The stipend for diploma internship positions will also increase from S $ 1,700 to S $ 2,100, from S $ 1,300 to S $ 1,800.
The allocation for university internships remains unchanged.
The maximum length of each internship will also be reduced from 9 to 6 months starting April 1, 2021, in line with the economic recovery and to encourage employers to offer apprentices full-time jobs, based on materials additional provided by the Ministry of Finance.
READ: IN FOCUS: Graduating in a COVID-19 Job Market: Short-Term Challenges and Long-Term Issues?
WAGE BOOST FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
Among other announcements, Heng said that the salaries of nurses and other healthcare workers, such as supportive care staff, will be improved.
This will apply to workers in publicly funded public health institutions and community hospitals and providers of long-term care services, he added, while expressing appreciation to all health workers for their dedication in the fight against the pandemic.
More details will be released in the debate of the Supplies Committee of the Ministry of Health.
READ: The health sector will offer 7,500 jobs, 1,600 internships, adjuncts, and professional training opportunities: MINSA
There will also be a new Business and Innovation Fellowship program, as part of preparing leaders in innovation and enterprise as Singapore moves towards a more technology-intensive and innovation-driven economy.
The National Research Foundation (NRF), a department within the Prime Minister’s Office, will support around 500 scholarships over the next five years, Heng said.
This aims to meet the needs in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and health technology. You’ll work with a variety of partners, including accelerators, venture capital firms, and deep-tech startups.
