SINGAPORE - From next month, early childhood educators who have been accepted into a new leadership training programme can apply for a $5,000 study award from the Government.

Early childhood educators who have been nominated by their employers and successfully accepted into the new Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Leadership programme can apply for the SkillsFuture Study Award for Early Childhood, which is bond-free.

Successful applicants will receive a monetary award of $5,000, which can be used to defray any out-of-pocket expenses associated with the programme, and can be used on top of existing Government course fee subsidies.

The new advanced diploma programme, which replaces a previous diploma in leadership in early childhood education, is offered by Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic. It aims to train senior pre-school teachers to become centre leaders.

This study award aims to help early childhood educators deepen their skills so they can take on larger job roles in the sector.

It is part of SkillsFuture, a national effort to help students and workers here develop more industry-relevant skills.

The advanced diploma course starts its first intake in April.