Enhanced Training Support Package and Enhanced Absentee Payroll to mitigate COVID-19

The Enhanced Training Support Package (ETSP) was part of the Stabilisation and Support Package and supplementary Resilience Budget announced by DPM Heng Swee Keat. To encourage employers to send their workers for training during downtime, the Government has provided time-limited enhancements to the course fee subsidy and absentee payroll funding for eligible courses. Enhanced course fee subsidies of up to 90% support were extended to selected sectors, while enhanced Absentee Payroll (AP) funding rates of 90% hourly basic salary (capped at $10/hour) were extended to all sectors from 1 May 2020. The time-limited enhancements were applicable for courses starting before 1 Jan 2021. 

On 5 Oct 2020, DPM Heng Swee Keat announced the extension of ETSP for an additional six months with some adjustments, for courses starting before 1 Jul 2021. Specifically:

1. Enhanced course fee subsidy at up to 90% (up from baseline rates from 50%) will be maintained, for eligible employers in selected sectors more severely affected by COVID-19. This currently includes Aerospace, Air Transport, Arts & Culture, Food & Beverage, Point-to-Point and Private Hire Bus Transport¹ , Retail and Tourism. This will also be extended to the severely affected Marine & Offshore sector.

2. From 1 Jan 2021, the enhanced Absentee Payroll funding rate will be revised to 80% of hourly basic salary capped at $7.50/hour, for employers in all sectors. This will apply to all courses that are eligible for absentee payroll² funding today. This is lowered from the current enhanced AP rate of 90% of hourly basic salary, capped at $10/hour, in line with the easing of Government support as the economy recovers. The AP rate from 1 Jan 2021 to 30 June 2021 remains higher than the pre-COVID rates for some companies.

¹Applies to point-to-point transport and private hire buses

²This applies to all courses that are eligible for absentee payroll funding today, e.g. selected courses by SSG-appointed CET Centres or certifiable courses by other SSG-approved training providers.  Employers are advised to check with the training providers on the courses that are eligible for absentee payroll funding.

The ETSP is time-limited to cover eligible courses starting before 1 July 2021. Enterprises (both SMEs and non-SMEs) are eligible for funding under the ETSP if they send their employees for training which commence within the following periods:

Table 1: Eligibility for Enhanced Course Fee Subsidy and Enhanced Absentee Payroll Funding

* Includes tourist guides who are self-employed persons. AP funding is not applicable to tourist guides and point-to-point drivers.

^#For course commencement before 1 Jan 2021, the absentee payroll funding rate is at 90% of hourly basic salary, capped at $10 per hour. For course commencement between 1 Jan 2021 to 30 Jun 2021, absentee payroll funding is at 80% of hourly basic salary, capped at $7.50 per hour.

The training will focus on deep domain, digital and soft skills that the sectors require. Examples of these courses include:

1. Training in deep domain skills such as:

Tourism	Foster Service Innovation, Quality Visitor Experience through Immersive Technology, Cultural Savviness & Diversity Service Inclusion and Understanding Visitors
Air Transport	Dangerous Goods Handling, Perishables Handling, International Travel Regulations, Air Transport Community Enrichment Programme (Airport Operations), Human Factors Training for Cabin Crew, A380 Service Training
Retail	Customer Experience Innovation, Productivity Management, Digital Marketing, Immersive Technology
Food & Beverage	Culinary Arts, Process Innovation, Managing Cost and Quality Control, Search Engine Advertising
Arts and Culture	Pedagogy for Performing Arts Instructors, Digital Media (art-making and outreach), Audience Engagement, e-Commerce Campaign Management
Point-to-Point Transport and Private Hire Bus Transport	Understanding of Electric Vehicles, Vehicle Safety and Maintenance, Safe & Defensive Driving
Aerospace	Quality & Safety Management System in Aerospace, WSQ Perform Aircraft General Maintenance
Marine & Offshore	Electrical Power Engineering, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Bunkering, and Shipyard Safety

2. Training in emerging digital skills such as:

Employers are advised to check with SSG-appointed training providers for the list of sector-specific training programmes which are eligible for the enhanced course fee funding under ETSP.

From 1 May 2020, the enhanced AP rates will apply to all courses that are eligible for AP funding today, e.g. selected courses by SSG-appointed CET Centres or selected certifiable courses by other SSG-approved training providers. Employers are advised to check with training providers on the courses that are eligible for AP funding.

Enterprises with registered business activities in the 8 sectors listed above can sign up for courses with the appointed training partners and apply for enhanced AP. These companies only need to pay the net course fees (i.e. course fees after the enhanced SSG subsidy) and the appointed training partners will disburse the enhanced AP to eligible companies once their employees have completed the training and passed the assessment.

Interested enterprises may approach the following CET Centres or training providers for more information.

Enterprises in all other sectors may follow the current process of applying for AP via the SkillsConnect system for courses commencing before 1 November 2020. For courses which commence from 1 November 2020, you can apply for AP grants through the Enterprise Portal for Jobs & Skills (EPJS). You will receive a notification to apply for AP after the course has been completed. This will be available from 12 October 2020 onwards.

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