The economic impact of COVID-19 has pushed Singaporean unemployment rates to the nation's highest in more than a decade and is expected to climb further for the rest of 2020. This is in tandem with increased demand for relevant ICT skills as businesses make a digital switch to better cope in the new normal. Acknowledging the needs of the current workforce landscape, Singapore IT courses provider, COMAT, has launched 47 new funded tech courses to close the digital skills gap and support a post-pandemic economy. Among the new IT courses introduced, it has added brand-based certifications in office skills as well as a range of advanced technology competencies such as those in cloud computing, data analytics and AI.
Together with its current pool of training courses, the organisation allows jobseekers to acquire useful tech skills desired in their chosen fields or reskill to stay economically relevant and find opportunities in new industries. Companies can also leverage these courses to send eligible employees for training to boost their technical proficiencies.
Government grants
With government funding available, both companies and individuals can overcome financial barriers that prevent them from investing in professional development, thus making skills upgrading more accessible than ever. COMAT's courses are eligible for up to seven government grants together with a union funding scheme, applicable to Singapore citizens and permanent resident, and include:
- Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme PLUS (CITREP+)
- Enhanced Training Support for SMEs
- National Infocomm Competency Framework
- Skills Development Fund
- SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy
- Post-Secondary Education Account
- SkillsFuture Credit
- Union Training Assistance Programme
These funding options cater to a range of courses across Professional, Manager and Executive levels as well as the rank and file, with further categorisation on age and mode of sponsorship. Those eligible may also apply for multiple schemes and get up to 100% of course fees covered.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
