​​Resources
​​​​SkillsFuture Study Award (“SFSA”) for Financial Services helps Singaporean finance professionals develop and deepen their skills through a wide range of courses.
 
The SFSA is targeted at Singaporeans in the early to mid-stages of their careers and are committed to develop and deepen their skills. Awardees will receive a monetary award of S$5,000, which can be used to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with the course(s) being taken. It can also be used on top of existing government course fee subsidies.​​

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Eligibility Criteria 

  • Singapore citizens with minimum 3 years of work experience in the financial sector*
  • Committed to deepening skills 
  • Has contributed to the learning or training of others 
  • Not a previous recipient of any SFSA 
  • Not a civil or public servant 
  • Selected course of study should be relevant to the job roles within the financial sector​
  • Applicant is planning to enrol into course of study or may already be enrolled but yet to complete at the point of applying for the SFSA

*Refers to work experience with Singapore-based financial institutions (licensed or exempt from licensing by MAS), firms that provide professional services to financial industry (e.g. consulting firms, law firms) or FinTech firms certified by Singapore FinTech Association.

Applicants are required to submit the gross course fees and declare all awards, scholarships, grants and government funding so as to derive the amount of net course fee. For this, please contact the institution for the prevailing rates on the selected course of study.

Please see illustration on how the net course fee is derived by self-sponsored individual receiving government funding. Individuals who have received full employer sponsorship will not qualify for the award.

Course fee
 S$12,000

IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS)* :

90% Course fee support (capped at S$7,000)

 S$(7,000)
Co-payment after funding support S$5,000
Less: SkillsFuture Credit (SFC)
 S$(500)
Net course fee payable by self-sponsored individual S$4,500
SFSA (To defray net course fee payable by self-sponsored individual) S$5,000
* Subject to the prevailing terms and conditions under the IBF-STS.

Only applications with total net course fees payable above $3,000 will be considered.

Applicants may consider taking up to 2 courses to maximise the utilisation of the SFSA award based on the total net course fees payable.

Applicants must upload the Course Details Form in the online application portal accessible at “Apply Now” above.
 
Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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​ Examples of Supported Courses

Supported courses should deepen skills in areas including insurance, asset and wealth management, compliance, risk management, data analytics, IT and cyber security. 

 Supported courses include, but are not limited to, short-term executive technical courses and specialist diploma programmes such as:​

Course

Institution
Advanced Diploma in Data Analytics and Machine Learning
 SMU Academy
Artificial Intelligence Implications for Business Strategy MIT Sloan Executive Education
Cross-Border Business and Finance Law in Asia Singapore Management University – School of Law
Data Analytics Course General Assembly
Financial Risk Manager Certification Training Program National University of Singapore - Risk Management Institute
​Graduate Certificate in Intelligent Reasoning Systems
​National University of Singapore - Institute of System Science
Graduate Certificate in Machine Learning and Applications
 National University of Singapore - School of Computing
​ICA International Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention
​International Compliance Association
Intensive Bank Analysis
 Fitch Learning Singapore Pte Ltd
Machine Learning from Data to Decisions Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Engineering
Managing Risk in the Information Age Harvard University
NUS RMI Specialist Diploma in Credit Risk Management – Corporate Banking National University of Singapore - Risk Management Institute
Oxford Entrepreneurship Venture Finance Programme University of Oxford Said Business School
Oxford Fintech Program University of Oxford Said Business School
​Python for Finance
​London Financial Studies Asia Pte. Ltd.
STEP Certificate and Diploma in International Trust Management CLT International Limited
STEP Professional Post Graduate Diploma in Private Wealth Advising CLT International Limited

These are examples of supported courses, and the list is not meant to be exhaustive. Applicants may submit other courses for consideration.


Application Period​

Application opens on 1 November 2021 and will close on 31 December 2021.

The SkillsFuture Study Awards will be discontinued on 31 March 2022, as part of SSG's broader efforts to review existing schemes and prioritise resources for programmes that deliver stronger manpower development outcomes. Eligible Singaporeans who wish to apply for the award should submit their applications by 31 December 2021.

Evaluation Process

All applications are subjected to competitive selection process. Evaluation of applications will take about 8 weeks after the application closing date. Only shortlisted applicants will be notified.

 Note:​
  • Applicants who have met the eligibility criteria do not automatically qualify for the SkillsFuture Study Award.
  • IBF’s decision is final and binding. 
  • IBF reserves the right not to disclose the reasons for approving or rejecting any application, and to reject any incomplete application.
  • IBF is not liable or responsible for the accuracy, reliability or completeness of content or information published on other third-party websites on or in connection with the SkillsFuture Study Awards.
  • If awarded, applicants will not be allowed to change their original course(s) as indicated in their application forms, unless for exceptional reason(s) deemed acceptable by IBF.

​Enquiries

Email: sfsa@ibf.org.sg​