SINGAPORE - About 4,700 trainees have received subsidies to upgrade their skills amid the pandemic downturn.

So far, 2,815 trainees sponsored by 36 financial institutions and 1,864 who are paying their own way have been beneficiaries of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) grant.

The MAS said on April 8 that it will disburse $10 per training hour to individuals who are paying for courses accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance and $15 per training hour per worker to financial institutions and fintech firms who had sent their employees.

It is part of a slew of relief measures the central bank has rolled out to help financial institutions and their employees amid the crisis.

The grants supplement the Jobs Support Scheme announced in this year's Budget.

Subsidies for relevant courses accredited by the IBF have also been increased to 90 per cent, up from 50 to 70 per cent, as long as the attendees are Singaporeans or permanent residents.

The MAS has received 29 applications for its Finance Associate Management Scheme, which provides salary support for financial institutions to hire fresh graduates who are Singaporeans or Singaporean workers from other sectors and place them in talent development programmes.

It disburses $2,000 a month to financial institutions for each eligible Singaporean they hire as part of the scheme, up from $1,000 before the pandemic.

Applications from 29 financial institutions have been lodged for more than 560 jobs over three years in areas such as wealth management, investment banking and insurance, among others.

Financial institutions have also offered 1,200 positions through the SGUnited Traineeship Programme and Technology in Finance Immersion Programme this year, the MAS added.

The traineeships initiative was announced by the Government earlier this year.

The Technology in Finance Immersion Programme equips mid-career professionals with skills to help them land jobs in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity, among others.

The MAS has also received 165 applications from smaller financial institutions and fintech firms for a grant that offsets expenses for adopting digital solutions such as virtual conferencing systems, cloud technology services and online collaboration tools.

The grant supports 80 per cent of qualifying expenses for the adoption of digital solutions, up to a cap of $120,000 per applicant.

There have also been two applicants for the industry pilot track of the grant, which supports collaboration among at least three smaller financial institutions to customise digital solutions for internal use.