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About 5,000 trainees get MAS grant to upgrade skills during pandemic

This article is more than 12 months old

About 5,000 trainees have received a grant to upgrade their skills during the downtime caused by the pandemic.

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 for each training hour to individuals paying for courses accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) and $15 for each training hour to employees sponsored by financial institutions and fintech companies.

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 grant supplements 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 Singaporean fresh graduates 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 submitted for more than 560 jobs over three years in areas such as wealth management, investment banking and insurance, among others.

POSITIONS

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 in the Fortitude Budget last month.

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

The MAS has also received 165 applications from smaller financial institutions and fintech companies 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 for each applicant.

BUSINESS & FINANCE