Singapore Institute of Retail Studies
Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme

  • The Workfare Training Support scheme is a three-year scheme announced by the Government in the 2010 Budget to complement the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme
  • The WTS encourages low wage workers to upgrade their skills through training, so that they can improve their employability and upgrade to better jobs
  • WTS is open to Singapore citizens aged 35 years and above, and who are earning up to $1,700 per month

Lower Cost of Training for Low-wage Workers:
  • Through WTS, low wage workers can benefit from higher course fee support when they sign up for any Singapore Workfare Skills Qualification (WSQ) courses, including those for Employability Skills, at the CET Centres:
Table 1: Course Fee Support and Absentee Payroll for Employer under WTS scheme
Workers who are Singapore Citizens aged 35 years old and above Course Fee Support Absentee Payroll for Employer
Earnings  $1,400 and below per month 95% 95%
Earning between $1,400 to $1,700 per month 90% 90%
  • To receive the higher course fee support, a low wage worker only needs to bring his/her NRIC and the WTS/WIS notification letter to all CET Centres and Approved Training Organisations (ATO), to sign up for training
  • Employers, who send their low wage workers for WSQ courses at all CET Centres and Approve Training Organisations (ATO), can also receive the higher course fee support shown in Table 1.  In addition, they can claim higher Absentee Payroll to cover the salaries of their low wage workers, when they are away at training.
Cash Award for Low-Wage Workers to Undergo Sustained Training
  • WTS also provides a cash award to encourage low wage workers to undergo complete and pass sustained training.
  • Known as the Training Commitment Award, it will be paid automatically to eligible WIS recipients together with their WIS payments as follows
Table 1: Course Fee Support and Absentee Payroll for Employer under WTS scheme
For every two modular WSQ SOA $200
For Completing a WSQ qualification $200
Maximum award an eligible WIS recipient can get in one year $400
  • To recognise low-wage workers’ recent training efforts, a maximum of two SOAs completed in the 12-month period, between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010, will be recognised for the first payout in Sep 2010


For more information on the Workfare Training Support (WTS) scheme, please call WTS toll free hotline: 1 800-5368 333 (Mon-Fri: 8.30am-8.00pm, Sat: 8.30am-1.00pm

Email: wda_enquiry@wda.gov.sg

Website: www.wrkfare.sg

To register for our courses, please click here.



About SPUR

About SPUR
SPUR or Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience, is an enhanced financial support scheme developed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in consultation with tripartite partners, Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). Leveraging on the extensive CET training system built over the years to scale up training programmes, SPUR brings together the full range of skills upgrading programmes with enhanced financial support that companies and workers can tap on over the next two years.

SPUR For Employers
SPUR encourages companies affected by declining business to retain workers by sending them for training, as opposed to retrenching them. This will help employers to save on manpower costs, better manage their excess manpower during the downturn and at the same time, upgrade their workers to strengthen business competitiveness for the upturn.

SPUR For Workers
SPUR aims to redeploy unemployed workers as well as help in-employment workers to up-skill for new and better jobs. Employed and unemployed workers no longer need to wait for their employers to send them for training, as they can now sign up for training at CET Centres directly.


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