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Investing in skills: How can businesses make training pay off?

Without opportunities to transfer skills to the workplace, the value of training quickly dissipates

    • SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) provides course fee subsidies, absentee payroll support, and an Enterprise Credit to defray training costs.
    • SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) provides course fee subsidies, absentee payroll support, and an Enterprise Credit to defray training costs. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Fri, Sep 12, 2025 · 07:00 AM

    CHALLENGES in upskilling and reskilling have eclipsed longstanding worries about foreign manpower as the most prevalent manpower concern after manpower costs, indicated the National Business Survey 2025 – Manpower and Wages Edition published by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).

    Nearly half of all companies – up from just a quarter the year before – cited skills development as a major pain point.

    Last year, Singapore’s training participation rate fell to a nine-year low of 40.7 per cent. This begs the question: Why do so many companies hold back from training workers despite recognising the pressing need for upskilling?

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