As the Covid-19 pandemic slows down the economy, besides focusing on keeping the number of Covid cases in Singapore under control, another important issue that the Government is grappling with is the rising unemployment rate in Singapore due to the effect of the crisis.
There have been several Government initiatives to address the concerns of businesses in hiring and retaining their employees, mainly to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to relieve hiring costs and increase employability of individuals through reskilling and upskilling.
With the implementation of the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) announced on 17th Aug 2020, Singapore government will co-pay salaries up to 25% for new hires below 40 years old, and 50% for those who are 40 years and above between Sept 2020 to Feb 2021 for one year, capped at the first S$5,000 of gross monthly salaries.
With this new incentive, Workforce Singapore (WSG) will be making temporary adjustments to Professional Conversion Programmes salary support funding.
Read also: 5 Government Initiatives for SMEs Hiring Local Workers 2020
What are Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs)?
The Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) are part of Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) Adapt and Grow Initiative that aims to help Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), including mid-career switchers, to undergo skills conversion to take on new job roles - be it in a different industry, or within the same company that provides different job opportunities for progression.
There are more than 100 PCPs to support local PMETs in career conversion, and the duration of PCP training can range from 3 months to as long as 24 months, depending on the programme and job requirements.
PCPs also span across 6 main clusters under the 23 Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), which are Manufacturing, Built Environment, Trade and Connectivity, Essential Domestic Services, Modern Services, and Lifestyle.
Types of PCPs include:
- Place-and-Train: PMET is hired by a participating employer before undergoing training to take on a new job role.
- Attach-and-Train: PMET is provided with training and work attachments, prior to job placement, through industry partners in growth sectors with good future job opportunities
- Redeployment / Job Redesign (JR) Reskilling: PMET at risk of redundancy in vulnerable job roles is retained by existing employers and reskilled training to take on new job roles within the same company.
Interested candidates can look at the program listing here.
What Are The Changes to PCPs?
Temporary adjustment in salary support funding for new hires on Place-and-Train PCPs for the period from 1st Sept 2020 to 28th Feb 2021.
TLDR:
- From 1st Sept 2020 to 28th Feb 2021, reduction of Salary Support from 70% to 35% for PMETs aged 40 and below, capped at $2,000 per month
- Salary Support for PMETs Aged 40 and above, and/or are unemployed for more than 6 months, will be reduced from 90% to 45%, capped at $3,000 per month
- Increase in Funding Period, e.g if PCP training duration is 6 months, the funding disbursement period will be extended to 12 months (i.e original training period of 6 months + retention period of an additional 6 months).
The total Salary Support payout amount will still be the same but will now take a longer disbursement period.
Who are not affected by the temporary adjustment:
- Local employees who were hired on Place-and-Train PCPs before Sept 2020 or after Feb 2021, which is outside the qualifying period for JGI
- Participants under Redeployment and JR Reskilling PCPs who are existing employees
- Attach-and-Train PCP participants who do not have an employer-employee relationship with the host organisations
How SMEs and individuals can apply for PCPs?
Interested jobseekers can visit www.wsg.gov.sg/pcp to apply. Suitable applicants will be shortlisted by participating employers for an interview before embarking on the programme.
For SMEs that are interested can also visit www.wsg.gov.sg/pcp or contact the respective PCP Programme Partners, such as e2i, for more information.
Read also: COVID-19: Smart Towkay's Essential Business Survival Guide for this Pandemic
Read also: COVID-19: How Can Singapore's SME Relief Measures Help Businesses During This Pandemic
Read also: How SMEs & Job Seekers Can Benefit From the Career Trial Programme 2020
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