WSS Scheme for Individuals | Workfare Skills Support Scheme

Workfare Skills Support (WSS) Scheme

WSS encourages lower-wage workers to undertake training that leads to more impactful employment outcomes.

Benefits

Training Allowance at $6 per hour, capped at 180 training hours per eligibility period
Training Commitment Award of up to $1,000 for courses attained during eligibility period
Absentee Payroll for Sponsoring employers up to 95% of basic hourly salary capped at $13 per hour

What is the enhanced WSS scheme?

From 1 July 2023, the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) scheme is 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.

Click here for more information.

Eligible individuals may receive:

Training allowance for selected courses that individuals had paid for themselves

Cash reward for completing training

Refer to infosheet for terms and conditions

Who can qualify

To qualify, individual must meet the following criteria:

Singapore Citizen;

At least 30 years old (previously 35 years old), or at least 13 years old for Persons with Special Needs;

Currently employed (include Self-Employed Persons who declare his/her Net Trade Income or work done in the preceding Work Year and made MediSave contributions);

Earns an average gross monthly income¹ of not more than $2,500 (previously $2,300) for the past 12 months;

Lives in a property with an annual value of less than $13,000 assessed as at 31 December of the preceding year;

Owns less than two properties; and

If married:

Together with spouse, own less than two properties; or
Spouse’s assessable income for the preceding Year of Assessment is less than $70,000.

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.

_{¹ Gross monthly income includes basic salary and extra wages such as overtime pay and bonuses.}

Training Allowance (TA)

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.

For courses eligible for TA, click on this link. Courses outside this list will not be eligible for TA. Please check with training providers for more details. The list of courses is subject to WSG’s prevailing funding policy and WSG reserves the right to update the courses’ eligibility at any point in time.

For courses that commence from 1 Jul 2020, you will need to have a valid PayNow account tied to your NRIC number for TA to be disbursed to you.

For Employee

If you are employed, your employer will be making regular CPF contributions to your CPF account, and you are not required to apply for TA.

For Self-employed

If you are self-employed and hence do not have regular CPF contributions, you may submit your TA claims online here. All WSS TA claims are to be submitted online within 120 days after your course ends.

Please refer to the step-by-step guide on how to file your TA online here. Should you require assistance to submit your TA claim, you may call the WSS hotline at 1800-536-8333.

The following documents are required for online TA claims submission:

NRIC;

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.

In general, if all relevant information (i.e. CPF contributions, supporting documents specified above and course(s) attended are within the WSS eligibility period) are in order and no further clarifications are needed from the trainee, the TA will be credited to the trainee’s PayNow registered bank account in approximately 1-3 months.

If there had been a recent change in your employment status from self-employed to employee, and you are unsure whether you are required to apply for TA claims online, please call WSS hotline at 1800-536-8333.

Training Commitment Award (TCA)

Cash awards are given to encourage eligible workers to undergo sustained training. Trainees will receive:

Course(s) completed before 1 July 2023

Course(s) completed from 1 July 2023

$100 for any two of the following, capped at $200 per WSS eligibility period for 4 achievements during the trainee’s eligibility period

WSQ Statement of Attainment (SOA)
Academic CET Modular Certificate/ Post-Diploma Certificate
Other certifiable courses supported by SSG

$500 for one WSQ Qualification or Academic CET Qualification

$800 for one WSQ Qualification or Academic CET Qualification

There will be an overall TCA cap of $1,000 per WSS Eligibility year.

For courses eligible for TCA, click on this link. Courses outside this list will not be eligible for TCA. Please check with training providers for more details. The list of courses is subject to WSG’s prevailing funding policy and WSG reserves the right to update the courses’ eligibility at any point in time.

No application is required. Individuals will be notified of their TCA payment via SMS and/or letter from CPF Board. It may take 1 to 3 months for you to receive the payment.

Absentee Payroll (AP)

Sponsoring employers are eligible for AP at up to 95% of trainee’s basic hourly salary, capped at $13 per hour².

For courses eligible for AP, click on this link. Courses outside this list will not be eligible for AP. Please check with training providers for more details. The list of courses is subject to WSG’s prevailing funding policy and WSG reserves the right to update the courses’ eligibility at any point in time.

Employers may apply and claim for the grants through the Enterprise Portal for Jobs and Skills here.

_{² From 1 July 2023 onwards.}