In order to combat the effects of COVID-19 and revive our economy, The Singapore government has come up with a new budget scheme for FY2021-2022 (COVID-19 Resilience Package). The main schemes introduced are  

• Extension of Jobs Support Schemes for Specific Sectors
• Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI)
• Continuation of SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package into Year 2021
• Extension of Support for Businesses

Therefore, this is beneficial to both clients and job seekers. The scheme was introduced to assist certain troubled sectors, to encourage employers to hire and provide more job opportunities. 

Let's explore each scheme in-depth as per the infographics below: 

Extension of Jobs Support Schemes for Specific Sectors

Sectors which were badly hit by the pandemic are split according to Tiers; with Tier 1 being the most heavily affected. 

Tier 1 consists of the tourism, aviation/aerospace industry. Many airlines have cut costs severely as their operations were badly affected. The tourism sector has also taken a dip due to imposed travel bans. Therefore, the government aims to slowly revive this sector as it is crucial to Singapore's economy. 

The government will pay out 30% of support for April to June 2021 wages, with an additional support of July to September 2021 wages.

Tier 2 sectors are arts/culture, Food services, Retail and Built Environment. Many theatres, retails are forced to shut down, especially during the circuit breaker (lockdown) period. Due to being out of business for 2-3 months, this has caused the sectors to lose a lot of revenue. Therefore, the proposed scheme is to pay out 10% support of wages from April to June 2021. 

Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI)

In order to encourage hiring local workers, the JGI (Jobs Growth Incentive) scheme was implemented. The JGI scheme is when the government will subsidize part of the new hires' wages within a certain time frame. In order to be eligible for this scheme, employers must increase their local workforce
and local workers earning at least SGD 1,400 per month.

For non-mature local worker hires'(40 and below), the scheme window has been extended until end of September 2021 from February 2021. The government will pay up to 25% of the new hire's wage support for up to 12 months.  

As for mature local worker hires'(40 and above), the duration has been extended of wage support from 12 months to 18 months from month of hire. The government will pay up to 50% of the new hire's wage support for up to 18 months.

Continuation of SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package into Year 2021

SGUnited Skills
Training courses to help Singaporeans up-skill and acquire skills in demand for new and emerging sectors. A monthly training allowance of SGD1,200 will be given out during the programme to assist in covering up expenses. Singaporeans are also eligible to use SkillsFuture credit to offset course fees. 

SGUnited Traineeship
Traineeship programs which aim to support newly grads and those who are about to graduate from years 2019 to 2021. Students from ITE, Polytechnics, Universities and private education institutes are eligible to take part in the traineeship. The duration for this programme is 6 months, and they will be able to take up traineeship from various sectors. 

SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme
The programme was designed to support mid-career individuals to gain new skills for jobs-in-demand or for those who wish to have a career switch. This will help current workers, or those who have been retrenched gain new skills and seek employment in emerging or sectors that are currently surviving the pandemic. (For example, switching to a tech or E-commerce career).

Extension of Support for Businesses

Temporary Bridging Loan Programme
Enterprises which are eligible may borrow up to $5million under this scheme. Interest rates will be capped at 5% per annum. The scheme will be extended 6 months
from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.

Enterprise Financing Scheme- Trade Loan

This scheme was enabled to access financing more readily throughout their various stages of growth. This scheme covers; SME Working Capital Loan, SME Fixed Assets Loan, Venture Debt Loan, Trade Loan, Project Loan and Mergers & Acquisitions Loan. This scheme will be available until 30 September 2021.

With these schemes implemented, it is hoped that the economy will be revivied and slowly brought into full swing once again by FY2022. Therefore, both employers and employees can help play their part in the process to restore Singapore's economy.