Workfare Skills Support (WSS Scheme)
Quick Links
- What is Workfare Skills Support (WSS Scheme)
- WSS Eligibility
- What is Training Allowance
- How to Claim Training Allowance
- What is Absentee Payroll
- How to Claim Absentee Payroll
- What is Training Commitment Award
- How to Claim Training Commitment Award
- Fundings Summary
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. Allow more lower-wage workers to benefit from WSS and upskill earlier in their careers;
ii. Encourage lower-wage workers to undertake deeper and more sustained training.
iii. Increase of Training Commitment Award (TCA) Full Qualifications (FQ) from $500 to $800. The higher quantum of $800 will only apply to full qualifications that are completed and attained from 1 Jul 2023.
Full Qualification completed and attained before 1 Jul 2023 will be awarded $500. The following remains unchanged:
- $100 per two achievements of WSQ Statement of Attainment/ Academic CET Modular Certificate or Post-Diploma Certificate Certifiable courses supported by SSG is capped at $200 during the WSS eligibility period [No Change]
- Please note that the TCA cap remains at $1,000 per WSS eligibility year [No Change]
iv. Introduction of hourly Absentee Payroll (AP) cap of $13. This is in addition to existing AP funding at 95% of basic salary.
Click here for more information.
Eligible individuals may receive:
- Training allowance for selected courses that individuals had paid for themselves
- A cash reward for completing training
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
To be eligible for WSS, individuals (both company-sponsored and self-sponsored) must fulfill the following criteria:
- Singapore citizen;
- Aged 30 years and above on 31 December of the work year
- For Persons with Disabilities, the age criterion is 13 years old or above.
- Employed and earning an average gross monthly income 1 of not more than $2,500 for the past 12 months; and
- Fulfills the WIS eligibility criteria of housing annual value (AV), property ownership, and spousal income. The WIS criteria for housing AV, property ownership, and spousal income are as follows:
- Live in a property with an annual value of $13,000 or less assessed as of 31 December of the preceding year;
- Own less than two properties;
- If married:
- The individual and his/her spouse own less than two properties; or
- The assessable income of the individual’s Spouse for the preceding Year of Assessment is less than $70,000; and
- If the individual is a Self-Employed Person (SEP), s/he must also have declared his/her net trade income for work done in the Work Year and made Medisave contributions.
- 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.
Other terms and conditions apply e.g. employers and individuals must not be barred from receiving government funding.
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.
3 Funding Components under WSS Scheme
1) What is Training Allowance
Training Allowance
Training Allowance grants self-sponsored trainees (i.e. paying for their own training) $6.00 for each hour of training for any WSS qualifying courses, up to a cap of 180 hours per WSS eligibility year. Individuals must pass their course with a minimum attendance rate of 75% to qualify for Training Allowance.
Training Allowance applies only to outcome-based courses offered by CET centres appointed by SSG and selected courses in sectors which have adopted the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) including cleaning, security, landscape and lift sectors.
Training Allowance Eligibility
To get Training Allowance (TA) under WSS, these are the conditions :
- Students must have WSS Letter
- Study under Self-sponsored scheme (and not employer-sponsored), and meet the following :
- Have taken the course after 1 Jul 2020;
- Complete and pass the course (minimum 75% attendance);
- Have paid for his/her own training;
- Have taken courses listed here. Courses outside this list will not be eligible for TA. Please check with us for more details;
- Not be barred from receiving SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) / Workforce Singapore (WSG) / Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) grants;
- For Employed students (with regular CPF payment from company), TA of $6/hr will be paid automatically without the need of any application.
- You will need to have a valid PayNow accout tied to your NRIC for TA to be disbursed to you.
- If you are self-employed and hence do not have CPF contributions, you may submit your TA claims online here. Please refer to the step-by-step guide on how to file your TA online here. Should you require assistance with e-submission, you may visit either Workforce Singapore (WSG) Careers Connect at Lifelong Learning Institute or Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) centre at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability for on-site assistance to submit your TA claims online.In general, if all relevant information (i.e. CPF contributions for employee and supporting documents for self-employed) are in order and no further clarifications is needed from the trainee, the TA will be credited to the trainee’s PayNow registered bank account in approximately 1-3 months.
- Original documents to bring:
- NRIC
- Valid bank book or statement
- Contract for Service dated within 3 months after course end date, OR
- Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)* business registration and business transaction document dated within 3 months after from course end date, e.g. revenue receipt/ invoice dated within three months to prove active status
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 Gateway 1.
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.
Source of Information
- https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/budget2020/factsheet-workfare-skills-support-scheme.pdf?la=en&hash=EC176C8C553ECE399239FFD63CACB13B
- https://www.workfare.gov.sg/pages/wss.aspx
- https://www.wsg.gov.sg/docs/default-source/programme/wss-infosheet-6-jun-23.pdf?sfvrsn=7ac04aa_5
- https://www.wsg.gov.sg/home/individuals/attachment-placement-programmes/workfare-skills-support-scheme
