MOM to Raise SGUnited Traineeship Allowances by Up To S$800 From 1 Apr

Unable to find a job anytime soon and worried about the SGUnited Traineeships ending soon? Wish that allowances could be more generous?

Well, I’ve got some great news for you.

Not only will the traineeships be available for 12 more months, but the pay for some traineeships will also be increased as well.

Here’s what you need to know.

MOM to Raise SGUnited Traineeship Allowances by Up To S$800 From 1 Apr

On 3 Mar 2021, it was revealed that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reviewing the allowances for SGUnited Traineeships.

Here’s the breakdown for you:

• ITE graduates: Between S$1600 and S$1,800 (from S$1,100 and S$1,500)
• Polytechnic graduates: Between S$1,700 and S$2,100 (from S$1,300 and S$1,800)
• Mid-career workers (40 years old and above): Between S$1,400 and S$3,800 (from S$1,400 and S$3,000)
• Mid-career workers (below 40 years old): Between S$1,600 and S$3,000 (from S$1,400 and S$3,000)
• University graduates: From S$1,800 to S$2,500 (unchanged)

The changes will kick in from 1 Apr 2021.

Other Changes to the Traineeship Programme

In order to encourage employers to hire local talents, several other changes will be made to the SGUnited Traineeship programme as well.

For one, the duration of the traineeships will be shortened from nine months to six months.

And secondly, companies are not allowed to take a trainee on for a second traineeship. If they wish to keep the trainee in their employment, they’ll have to rightfully employ him instead.

To add on to the good news, the government’s co-funding of training allowance for mature workers 40 years old and above will increase from 80% to 90%.

More Opportunities Up For Grabs

With a S$5.4 billion boost to SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, there are more opportunities available for Singaporeans who are ready to fight for their future.

These include:

• 35,000 traineeships attachments and training opportunities
• The extension of the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) to the end of September which will support the hiring of 200,000 locals

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo added that they’ll monitor the situation and see what is needed after Sep 2021.

Employment Outcomes For JGI

If you remember back to the debate on live TV between Jamus Lim and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, you’ll know that the topic of efficacy was brought up.

Specifically, exactly how effective was the big spending during the COVID-19 pandemic at saving people’s jobs?

Well, that question has been answered now for the JGI since it was introduced in Sep 2020.

More than 110,000 locals were hired by 26,000 employers from Sep to Oct 2020, with half of them mature workers.

Mature workers have been the group most heavily impacted by displacement even before COVID-19 was a thing.

A third of new hires moved into new sectors, and three in ten of the hires were not working previously.

In fact, most of them were unemployed for more than six months.

To top it off, six out of ten of them held the same pay, or higher, compared to their previous job.

So there you go, good news and even more good news to come.

For those who need help seeking employment, you can check out the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package here.

Feature Image: Shutterstock.com / ProStockStudio