Workfare Skills Support (WSS Scheme)

What is Workfare Skills Support (WSS Scheme)

Workfare Skills Support, or WSS Scheme, encourages low wage workers to undertake training that leads to more impactful employment outcomes. Eligible individuals may receive training allowance for selected courses that individuals had paid for themselves and/or cash reward for completing training.

From 1 July 2023, the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) scheme will be enhanced to:

i. Permit more workers earning less to take use of WSS and advance their skills sooner in their careers;

ii. Motivate employees making less money to pursue longer-term, more in-depth training.

People who qualify can get:

Training reimbursement for certain courses that the individual had personally paid for
Reward of money for finishing training

Click here for more information.

Refer to infosheet for terms and conditions

(A one time Workfare Special Payment may also be available for eligible persons)

WSS Eligibility from 1 July 2023

From January 2023, you may check your WSS eligibility by logging in to the Workfare eService with your SingPass. Please note that you do not need a WSS letter for course enrolment with Training Providers.

For more information on some of the criteria such as property value, you may refer here, and select the employment category applicable to you. This is similar to the Workfare Income Scheme (WIS) criteria indicated in Workfare website.

To be eligible for WSS, individuals (both company-sponsored and self-sponsored) must fulfill the following criteria:

Singaporean national;
Minimum age of thirty (formerly thirty-five), or minimum age of thirteen for individuals with special needs;
Currently working (including self-employed individuals who report their net trade income or who completed work in the previous work year and contributed to MediSave);
Has a gross monthly income1 average for the last 12 months of no more than $2,500 (previously $2,300);
Resides in a home assessed as having an annual worth of less than $13,000 as of December 31 of the previous year;
Possesses fewer than two homes; and

If married:
- Possess fewer than two properties jointly with your spouse; or
- The spouse’s income from the previous year of assessment is not more than $70,000.

Questions on Eligible WSS Courses?

If you have any enquiries on Workfare Skills Support, your eligibility, which courses are suitable for you and how you can apply, feel free to enquire.

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3 Funding Components under WSS Scheme

1) What is Training Allowance

Training Allowance Eligibility

To qualify for training allowance at $6 per hour (capped at 180 training hours per WSS eligibility period), individual must:

Have taken course(s) eligible for TA after 1 July 2020;

Complete and pass the course (minimum 75% attendance);

Have paid for his/her own training; and

Not be barred from receiving SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) / Workforce Singapore (WSG) / Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) grants.

1A) How to Claim Training Allowance

Training Allowance is applicable to only trainees who are employed.

Please check for your eligibility under the Training Allowance section.

If you are employed and have regular CPF contributions, no application is required. If eligible for Training Allowance, it will be credited via PayNow to the bank account linked to your NRIC number.

If you are self-employed and do not have CPF contributions to your account, you need to make a Training Allowance claim and provide documents to prove active employment. Please visit Workforce Singapore (WSG) Careers Connect or Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) centres within 120 days from your course end date.

Workforce Singapore (WSG) Careers Connect	Employment & Employability Institute (e2i) Centres
Lifelong Learning Institute 11 Eunos Road 8, #02-02 Singapore 408601 Tel: 6883 5885	e2i West Devan Nair Institute for Employment & Employability 80 Jurong East Street 21 Level 2 Singapore 609607

Original documents to bring:

NRIC;
Valid book of statement;
Contract for Service or equivalent dated within 3 months after course end date; OR
Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) business registration; and
Business transaction documents dated within 3 months after course end date

2) What is Absentee Payroll

Absentee Payroll (AP)

With effect from Jul 2023, SSG has a capped Absentee Payroll (AP) rate at $13 per hour. We will also set a $100,000 cap on the maximum AP funding each organisation can claim each calendar year to ensure that the benefits are more evenly distributed across companies.

Absentee Payroll Eligibility

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
Enterprise should check its SME Status through Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Declaration.

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

Must be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents
Trainee is not a full-time national serviceman
Courses have to be fully paid for by the employer

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

2A) How to Claim Absentee Payroll

As part of SSG and WSG’s commitment to Enterprise, the Absentee Payroll (AP) process has been streamlined and moved to EPJS (Enterprise Portal for Jobs & Skills) to enhance the Enterprise use experience.

The Absentee Payroll Claim Process in EPJS is as follow :

Enrolment

Training Partner (TP) will submit trainees(s) enrolment on behalf of the Enterprise in Training Partner Gateway¹.

AP Declaration

Enterprise receives an email to submit AP Declaration with requirement information including salary and worked hours for the trainee(s); and update PayNow details. Corppass is required to loin to EPJS.

AP Disbursement

Enterprise receives AP disbursement(s) via PayNow.

¹ Important Note: Please ensure you provide TP with your company’s Unique Entity Number (UEN), which is the direct employer of the trainee(s) that also provides salary, statutory benefits, etc. The UEN will be utilised for verification purposes as part of the funding disbursement process.

The details can be found here: Absentee Payroll Claim Onboarding Guide

3) What is Training Commitment Award

Training Commitment Award (TCA)

Training Commitment Award (TCA) encourages sustained, productive training. Training Commitment Award is a cash award given to eligible workers after achieving the required certifications:

a. $100 per 2 achievements of any of the following, capped at $200 during the trainee’s WSS Eligibility period

WSQ Statement of Attainment
Academic CET Modular Certificate or Post-Diploma Certificate
Certifiable courses supported by SSG

b. $500 for achieving one WSQ Qualification or Academic CET Qualification.

There will be an overall TCA cap of $1,000 for the validity period stated in the WSS letter. Individual who is awarded $200 for achievement listed in a. and $800 for achieving one WSQ Full Qualification or Academic CET Qualification as TCA is capped at $1,000.

Only certifiable courses accredited or supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) would qualify for TCA. No application is required by the trainee.

3A) How to Claim Training Commitment Award

No application is required

Individuals who receive a WSS letter are eligible for Training Commitment Award if they achieve the Full Qualification and/or courses within the WSS eligibility period stated in the letter.

Individuals will be notified of their Training Commitment Award payment via SMS and/or letter by CPF Board.

Summary of Fundings

	Training Commitment Award	Training Allowance	Absentee Payroll
Benefits	$800 for one WSQ or Academic CET Full Qualification attained, $100 for any 2 of the following courses up to $200: WSQ Statement of Attainment Academic CET Modular Certificate or Post-Diploma Certificate Certifiable Courses supported by SSG. Please note that the completion of courses must be attained within your WSS eligibility period as stated in your WSS letter. The total Training Commitment Award is capped at $1,000 per WSS Eligibility Year.	Self-sponsoring trainee gets $6.00 per training hour, up to 180 hours per WSS Eligibility Year.The Training Commitment Award of $6.00 per training hour will apply for courses that start from 1 Jul 2020 onwards.	Sponsoring employer gets up to 95% of your hourly basic salary.
Eligible courses	Download full Excel list of courses	Download full Excel list of courses	Download full Excel list of courses
Other funding conditions	Passed the course achieved minimum 75% attendance not barred from receiving government grants

See more on SkillsFuture Credit & SkillsFuture Subsidy for courses.

Questions on Eligible WSS Courses?

If you have any enquiries on Workfare Skills Support, your eligibility, which courses are suitable for you and how you can apply, feel free to enquire.

ENQUIRE

Source of Information