Who is IBF?

The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) is the national accreditation and certification agency for financial industry competency in Singapore under the Skills Framework for Financial Services, which were developed in partnership with the industry. IBF represents the interests of close to 200 member financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, securities brokerages and asset management firms.

Under Workforce Singapore’s Adapt and Grow initiative, IBF is the appointed programme manager for the administration of professional conversion programmes for the financial industry. As programme manager, IBF partner financial institutions to re-skill employees for expanded roles and opportunities in growth areas.

Individuals who complete the IBF-accredited skills training programmes and meet the relevant criteria may apply for IBF Certification.

IBF Course Funding

The IBF Financial Training Scheme (FTS) and the IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS) are targeted at promoting financial sector training. IBF is the Funding Administrator for both FTS and IBF-STS.

IBF STS Funding

The IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS) provides funding for training and assessment programmes accredited under the Skills Framework for Financial Services. It is applicable for both Company-Sponsored and Non Company-Sponsored individuals.

Funding Quantum	For training programmes commencing between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2022 (both dates inclusive, completed no later than 31 Mar 2023):70% of direct training cost*Singapore Citizens aged 40 years old and above will be eligible for 90% co-funding of direct training costs.
Grant Cap	S$7,000 per participant per programme
Training Grant Allowance (TAG)	Only available for training programmes commencing between 8 April 2020 and 31 June 2022 (both dates inclusive) and completed no later than 30 September 2022.Refer to below for TAG rates.
​Eligible Individuals #	Company-sponsored individuals or self-sponsored participantsSingapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, physically based in Singapore; andSuccessfully completed IBF-STS recognised programme (including passing all relevant assessments and examinations).​
Companies eligible to submit claims for company-sponsored participants ^	​Singapore-based financial Institutions regulated by MAS (licensed or exempt from licensing by MAS)FinTech firms certified by Singapore FinTech Association

IBF FTS Funding

The Financial Training Scheme (FTS) provides funding for financial sector-specific training programmes which are recognized under FTS. Non Company-Sponsored individuals are not eligible for FTS funding.

Funding Quantum	For training programmes commencing between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2022 (both dates inclusive, completed no later than 31 Mar 2023) :50% of direct training cost *Singapore Citizens aged 40 years old and above will be eligible for 90% co-funding of direct training costs.
Grant Cap	S$2,000 per participant per programme
Training Grant Allowance (TAG)	Only available for training programmes commencing between 8 April 2020 and 31 June 2022 (both dates inclusive) and completed no later than 31 September 2022.Refer to below for TAG rates.
​Eligible Individuals	Only company-sponsored individuals; andSingapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, physically based in Singapore; andSuccessfully completed FTS recognised programme.
Companies eligible to submit claims for company-sponsored participants	​Singapore-based financial Institutions regulated by MAS (licensed or exempt from licensing by MAS)FinTech firms certified by Singapore FinTech Association

Training Allowance Grant

Training Allowance Grant (TAG) aims to help Financial Institutions and FinTech firms manage manpower costs and support the skills upgrade of their employees. Self-sponsored individuals are also eligible for TAG to encourage them to invest time into skills upgrading.

	Company-Sponsored Participants	Self-Sponsored Participants
Grant Amount	​S$15/hour of eligible training and assessment hours	S$10/hour of eligible training & assessment hours
​Eligible Courses	Commencing between 8 April 2020 to 31 December 2020 (both dates inclusive)Completed no later than 31 March 2021	Commencing between 8 April 2020 to 31 December 2020 (both dates inclusive)Completed no later than 31 March 2021
​Eligible Participants	​Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, physically based in Singapore	​Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, physically based in Singapore

*Direct training cost would be based on the gross programme fee charged by the external training provider or apportioned basic salaries of internal staff involved in developing and/ or delivering in-house programmes. Qualifying expenses include training costs incurred for both executive and non-executive staff, as well as staff employed on a short-term basis (less than one year, inclusive of contract staff and interns). Apportioned basic salaries of full time in-house trainers involved in developing and/or delivering in-house programmes will also be eligible for support.

#Individuals who attend a programme in the capacity of an instructor or facilitator, e.g. presenter / speaker / panelist are not eligible for FTS funding.

^SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) cannot be used to co-fund the programme fees of company-sponsored training programmes.

Sources
https://www.ibf.org.sg/programmes/pages/training-incentives.aspx