6 Govt Schemes for SG Businesses when Hiring in 2020

The sudden emergence of the recent COVID-19 pandemic has been dealing with a severe blow to state economies, businesses and workers.  

When looking to tackle the ongoing economic challenges, attract and retain local manpower, or improve productivity and innovation, here are some new grants and programmes announced to provide companies with support and resources customised for their manpower needs.

Let’s take a look below.

The 2 New Grants: “SWEAG” and “PTRG”

Businesses that are interested in grants for hiring older or senior workers would be interested in this.

As part of efforts to strengthen support for senior workers who wish to continue working, the Ministry of Manpower launched the “Senior Worker Support Package” to help businesses adjust to the increase in Retirement Age (“RA”), Re-employment Age (“REA”) and CPF contribution rates, including creating more age-friendly workplace practices.

The Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant (“SWEAG”) and the Part-Time Re-employment Grant (“PTRG”) were two of the measures rolled out under the “Senior Worker Support Package”.

Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant (“SWEAG”) 

The Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers recommended that the statutory minimum Retirement Age (“RA”) and Re-employment Age (“REA”) should be raised to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030.

The first move will take effect from 1 July 2022, with the Retirement Age (“RA”) increasing from 62 to 63, and the Re-employment Age (“REA”) increasing from 67 to 68.

To support progressive employers that are willing and able to implement a higher internal retirement age and re-employment age ahead of time, MOM has introduced the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant (“SWEAG”) from 1 July 2020 onwards.

Part-Time Re-employment Grant (“PTRG”) 

Through the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Worker public consultation and other surveys, it was increasingly observed that senior workers prefer to reduce their work intensity gradually as they approach retirement.

They are prepared to remain in the workforce if they could undertake part-time work arrangements during the re-employment phase. 

As employers need time to restructure their work processes to accommodate more part-time employees, the Part-time Re-employment Grant (“PTRG”) has been introduced from 1 July 2020 onwards to support employers that commit to providing part-time re-employment opportunities to senior workers upon their request.

How do the 2 grants above benefit you as a company?

Employers will receive funding support up to $375,000 to implement early adoption of higher retirement/re-employment ages and/or part time re-employment policy for its senior workers. 

These grants for hiring older or senior workers allows companies to continue tapping on the rich experience and skill sets of these groups of workers. Companies adopting these policies will also be seen as progressive employers and will potentially be able to attract more talents.

Companies can also get to enjoy up to $7.5k worth of grant for each Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident employee (on CPF) above 60 years old capped at 50 senior workers. 

The 4 Existing Support Programmes: “CSP”, “WLG”, “PCP” and “P-Max”

Apart from the 2 new grants, there is also in place 4 existing support programmes to encourage companies with the hiring of manpower during this pandemic. 

Career Support Programme (“CSP”)

The Career Support Programme (“CSP”) encourages employers to offer suitable job opportunities to eligible Singapore Citizen Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (“PMETs”) and tap on the wealth of experience they could bring to the workplace. 

Employers can receive up to 18 months of wage support capped at $42,000 for every eligible Singapore Citizen “PMET” employed. This will help you defray a portion of the salary.

The “CSP” is part of the Adapt and Grow initiative to help Singapore Citizens adapt to changing job demands.

Work-Life Grant (“WLG”) for flexible work arrangements

The Work-Life Grant (“WLG”) aims to incentivise companies to sustain the use of flexible work arrangements for all employees, to create work-life harmony at the workplace.

Companies can look forward to support of up to $70k for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in their company.

Professional Conversion Programme (“PCP”)

Professional Conversion Programmes (“PCPs”) are career conversion programmes targeted at Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (“PMETs”); including mid-career switchers, to undergo skills conversion and move into new occupations or sectors that have good prospects and opportunities for progression.

Companies can receive up to 9 months of wage support capped at $54,000 for every eligible Singapore Citizen “PMET” employed. This will help you defray a portion of the salary.

Professional-Max (“P-Max”)

“P-Max” is a SkillsFuture initiative that matches Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (“PMETs”) to suitable positions in small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”).

This initiative is for both job-seeking Singaporean or Singaporean Permanent Resident “PMETs” looking for a career with “SMEs”, as well as the local “SMEs” looking to hire them.

Participating “SMEs” can also enjoy up to 90% course fee subsidy for “PMET”, “SME” training workshops and Age Management workshop (applicable for “P-Max” for Older Workers only), while eligible “SMEs” will receive a one-time $5,000 Assistance Grant or $10,000 Assistance Grant (“P-Max” for Older Workers only) upon completion of the Programme and 6-month retention of the newly hired “PMET”.

Conclusion

While reimagining the workforce can be a pressing task, businesses should continuously seek to create age-inclusive workplaces.

In line with the introduction of further grants and programmes given to companies to aid them in this move, it is believed that it will encourage more companies to step in to hire senior workers as well in this pandemic. 

---

This article is a guest contribution by Brenda Tan of Arcana Advisory.

To learn more about whether your business qualifies for any of these grants, or how you can tap onto these grants for your business, drop an email to brenda@arcana.com.sg, or give her a call at +65 9172 9050.

Brenda Tan – Managing Partner, Arcana Advisory

Brenda is the founder of Arcana Advisory and one of the Managing Partners of Web Imp Group of Companies. Her experience includes management roles in Corporate & Investment Banking Group, SME Banking, Business Development and Consultancy Business.