Higher S$7,500 cap for salary support, wider eligibility for Career Conversion Programmes

EMPLOYERS will receive more salary support to hire mid-career workers and upskill existing employees under the Career Conversion Programme (CCP) scheme, with effect from Apr 1, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in Parliament on Monday (Mar 4).

First, CCP salary support caps will be raised. For mature workers or long-term unemployed workers, employers get up to 90 per cent funding support for the CCP training duration, capped at S$6,000 per month. This will now be raised to S$7,500.

“This means ... that employers can receive up to S$45,000 of salary support for each worker for a six-month conversion programme,” said Dr Tan during the debate on his ministry’s budget for the new financial year.

Mature workers refer to those aged 40 and above, while the long-term unemployed are those who have been unemployed and actively seeking employment for six months or more.

Other CCP participants receive up to 70 per cent salary support, capped at S$4,000 per month. This will be raised to S$5,000.

Reskilling support under the CCP will also be available for more job roles.

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“Today, CCPs can only be used to reskill existing workers in jobs that are at risk of redundancy,” Dr Tan said. “But going forward, we will support employers who are proactively reskilling existing workers to take on new growth job roles.”

From Apr 1, CCP support will be available for any existing employee taking up growth jobs identified under the various Industry Transformation Maps or Jobs Transformation Maps.

Administered by Workforce Singapore, the CCPs co-share costs with employers who reskill new hires or existing workers for new or enhanced job roles.

More than 7,300 employers and 47,000 workers benefited from the CCP scheme between 2017 and 2023, noted Dr Tan.

Update on CareersFinder

The minister also provided an update to the CareersFinder tool on Workforce Singapore’s MyCareersFuture jobs portal.

In its first six months, more than 15,000 individuals have used the feature, which helps jobseekers to identify potential career opportunities and relevant training programmes.

Said Dr Tan: “The early signs are encouraging as we find these workers do go on to broaden their horizons by applying for jobs across a wider range of occupations.”