At yesterday's graduation ceremony of the at-sunrice culinary academy, the school's founder, Mrs Kwan Lui, said that the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will provide an additional $2.8 million to help 200 more students through diploma courses from next month.

The WDA culinary scholarship programme, which began last year, started off with a $1.4 million grant funding 100 students.

Singapore's food and beverage industry is seeing growth of between 8 per cent and 20 per cent, with at least 6,000 new jobs expected to be created in the next three years.

WDA's director of tourism Teo Sio Hoon said: 'Chefs take the longest time to train, so we have to start now.'

More than 40 professionals, managers and executives have left their professions to take up cookery courses at the school.

One such student who made the switch was Mr Ang Chee Yong, 34, an engineer earning about $4,000 a month when he gave it all up. For the last two years, he has been living on the school's monthly $750 allowance.

Mr Ang, who graduated yesterday at the top of his class, said: 'It was a huge sacrifice, but well worth it.'