With the SkillsFuture movement and the drive towards a future based on lifelong learning and skills mastery, the use of the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) will be broadened to enable all Singaporeans to have more choices in the types of courses they can use their PSEA to acquire and deepen skills throughout their lives.
With the broadening of the PSEA usage, Singaporeans will soon be able to use their PSEA funds for all full qualification courses, approved modular and short courses offered by the AUs, UniSIM, polytechnics and ITE, and approved government-subsidised full qualification courses, modular and short courses conducted by the arts institutions, public agencies and private training providers. For persons with disabilities, the extension includes training courses under SG Enable.
As such, Singaporeans will soon be able to use their PSEA funds to pay the fees and charges for the following types of work-skills-related courses:
The expansion of courses takes into account public feedback to expand usage of the PSEA and supports Singaporeans’ pursuit of skills acquisition and upgrading throughout their lives. For instance, short and modular courses are now included under the PSEA to better support individuals who are looking to develop specific skills sets, without necessarily having to sign up for a course leading to full qualification.
See: SkillsFuture Helping Singaporeans to Upskill Themselves
Currently, PSEA can be used to pay the fees for Singaporeans enrolled in government-supported special education (SPED) schools. As Singapore moves towards strengthening inclusiveness, the PSEA usage will also be expanded to include training courses under SG Enable, on top of the current PSEA support for students in government-supported SPED schools.
This move recognises the need to support SPED graduates with continued training beyond their school years, and creates alternative channels for those who do not progress to the publicly-funded post-secondary education institution.
To facilitate the broadening of the PSEA usage, MOE will be reviewing and setting up appropriate processes to support the assessment and inclusion of courses under the PSEA submitted by public agencies and institutions.
MOE aims to be operationally ready to support the inclusion of courses under PSEA and facilitate the application for PSEA withdrawals by mid-2017. As some time is needed to put in place and enhance the systems and processes, extension in use of the PSEA to additional courses will be progressive.
As a start, PSEA withdrawals will be supported for approved training courses under SG Enable by February 2017. Over time, more courses will be added under the PSEA coverage. MOE will regularly update the list of approved institutions with courses eligible for PSEA usage on the PSEA website.
The PSEA was first set up in 2008 with the intention of encouraging young Singaporeans to complete post-secondary education, and is targeted at Singaporeans aged up to 30 years old.
Currently, the approved courses covered under PSEA include most full-time and part-time full qualification programmes offered by publicly-funded post-secondary educational institutions, as well as skills-based programmes offered by the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) CET Centres, and government-supported SPED schools.
Also read: Businesses in Singapore Say Skills Shortage is Stifling Innovation and Revenue
Image credit: sutd.edu.sg
