What SkillsFuture? Half of SMEs clueless about new programme, shows survey

Over 1 in 3 firms are not interested at all.

Over half of Singapore’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are woefully clueless about the SkillsFuture Programme, an initiative especially designed to give SMEs a leg-up as the country’s painful economic restructuring continues.

This was revealed in the latest SME Survey conducted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), which showed that 56% of SMEs are unaware of SkillsFuture.

Worse, over a third or 32.4% of unaware SMEs are not at all interested to participate in the programme.
Another 21.5% of these SMEs are only slightly interested in the programme. Almost 2 in 5 or 39% are interested to participate, while 7.1% are "very interested" to join the initiative.

On the flip side, 44% of surveyed SMEs are aware of the programme. A quarter of these SMEs are not interested in the programme, but overhalf or 52% say that they are interested in the initiative.