More Singaporeans and enterprises tapped SkillsFuture initiatives last year, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) said in a statement yesterday.

Last year, around 500,000 individuals and 14,000 enterprises took part in SkillsFuture programmes, an increase from the 465,000 individuals and 12,000 enterprises that benefited in 2018, said the agency in its annual report card.

Eight-six per cent of more than 43,000 trainees surveyed by SSG last year also said that they improved their work performance after training.

"The vast majority of those who participate in SSG-funded training reported good outcomes," said SSG chief executive Ong Tze-Ch'in.

More than half a million Singaporeans have used their SkillsFuture Credit since 2016 and the top three training fields where they used it were information and communications technology, food and beverage, and productivity and innovation.

The $500 credit is given to all Singaporeans aged 25 and older to be used for training courses, as part of the Government's effort to get people thinking about lifelong learning.

Last year, about 124,000 individuals tapped SkillsFuture schemes that provided more subsidies, such as the Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy and Enhanced Training Support for small and medium-sized enterprises, to support their training needs, compared with 114,000 in 2018.

More than 54,000 attended SkillsFuture workshops last year to learn how to plan their training needs, compared with about 46,000 people in 2018.

More students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and autonomous universities also took up SkillsFuture work-study programmes, SSG said.

There was an increase in the number of Singaporeans - from 1,700 in 2018 to 2,200 last year - who took up the various work-study programmes.

Clara Chong