The idea of lifelong learning is not new. But with SkillsFuture, the Government hopes more people will adopt learning as a lifestyle, even after formal schooling ends.

There is a plethora of initiatives under the umbrella. These include SkillsFuture Credit to encourage Singaporeans to pick up skills, and SkillsFuture Study Awards for early- and mid-career workers.

From developing mobile apps to offering advice on wine, there are many courses Singaporeans can use their SkillsFuture Credit for.

In the first eight months of this year, more than 80,000 people signed up for the initiative, which gives Singaporeans aged 25 and older an initial $500 credit to pay for skills courses. In all, they used about $22.5 million under the scheme, introduced in January. About 62 per cent of those who used their credits were 40 or older.

Five popular areas of training are information and communications, security and investigation, personal development, food and beverage, and language skills.

The credits do not expire and will be topped up at various intervals so they can be accumulated for more expensive courses.

Calvin Yang

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