Singapore’s SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) is one of the most straightforward government grants available to Singapore employers — a S$10,000 credit per eligible company that can be applied against qualifying workforce development and enterprise transformation costs. Yet many Singapore business owners either do not know it exists or have not claimed it. This guide explains what SFEC is, who qualifies, what it can be used for, and how to claim it before the credit expires.

What Is SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit?

SFEC is a S$10,000 per-employer credit administered by the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) agency. It was introduced to encourage Singapore employers to invest in enterprise-level workforce transformation — not just individual training, but the structural and process changes that make workforce upskilling effective and sustainable.

The key distinction is that SFEC operates at the employer level, not the employee level. While SkillsFuture Credit gives individual employees credits to spend on their own training, SFEC gives companies credit to spend on training programmes and transformation activities that benefit the workforce as a whole. A company can receive and spend SFEC even if its individual employees separately use their personal SkillsFuture Credits.

SFEC covers up to 90% of out-of-pocket qualifying costs. Given Singapore’s broad network of approved training providers and enterprise transformation programmes, most companies can readily identify qualifying activities to spend the credit on.

Who Qualifies for SFEC?

Eligibility for SFEC is assessed against four criteria:

  • Registered in Singapore: The company must be registered or incorporated in Singapore.
  • CPF contributions: The company must have made Skills Development Levy (SDL) contributions for at least three employees who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents for any period of at least six months within the preceding three years before the application period opens.
  • Active trading: The company must be an active trading entity — not a dormant holding company.
  • Not a government entity: Government agencies and statutory boards are not eligible.

The SDL contribution requirement is the most common filter. Start-ups in their first year that have not yet hired three local employees may not qualify. However, once a company has been operating long enough to meet the SDL requirement, it becomes eligible.

SSG publishes the list of eligible employers periodically. You can check your company’s eligibility on the SkillsFuture SFEC portal.

What Can SFEC Be Spent On?

SFEC can be applied against two broad categories of qualifying costs:

Workforce Development Programmes

Training and development programmes approved by SSG or SkillsFuture Singapore qualify for SFEC. This includes:

  • SSG-funded training programmes run by approved training providers (ATPs)
  • Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) programmes
  • Company-sponsored enrolment in ITE, polytechnic, and university courses under the SkillsFuture framework
  • Leadership development programmes under SSG’s Leadership and Management programmes

Enterprise Transformation Programmes

Beyond training, SFEC also covers costs related to broader enterprise transformation, including:

  • Enterprise development programmes administered by EnterpriseSG (many of which overlap with EDGE grant activities)
  • Industry-specific transformation initiatives under Singapore’s Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs)
  • Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) programmes
  • National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) training and employability programmes

Importantly, SFEC can be combined with other grants for the same activity in some circumstances. A company that applies for EDGE grant support for a digitalisation project may also be able to use SFEC to cover the workforce training component of that project. For a detailed guide to combining grants effectively, see our article on stacking Singapore government grants.

How to Claim SFEC

The SFEC claiming process works differently from most other Singapore grants. Rather than applying for SFEC and then spending it, companies first incur qualifying costs, and then submit claims to offset those costs against their SFEC balance.

The process is:

  1. Confirm eligibility: Check your company’s eligibility on the SkillsFuture SFEC portal. Eligible companies are listed and their S$10,000 credit balance is displayed.
  2. Undertake qualifying activities: Enrol employees in qualifying training programmes or undertake qualifying enterprise transformation activities.
  3. Pay out of pocket first: Pay the training provider or programme organiser directly. SFEC is a reimbursement credit, not advance funding.
  4. Submit a claim: Log in to the SkillsFuture portal using your company’s Corppass and submit a claim for the qualifying expenses. The claim form requires the employee details, training provider information, and receipts.
  5. Receive reimbursement: Once the claim is approved, the reimbursement (up to 90% of out-of-pocket qualifying costs, capped at the S$10,000 credit balance) is paid to the company’s bank account.

Claims must be submitted within six months of the qualifying activity being completed. Do not leave claims too long — late claims are not accepted.

SFEC Credit Periods and Deadlines

SFEC has been rolled out in tranche cycles. The most recent SFEC cycle covers qualifying activities incurred from 1 April 2023 onwards, with claims to be submitted by 30 June 2026. Businesses that have undertaken qualifying activities in this period and have not yet claimed should do so urgently.

SSG is expected to announce further SFEC rounds for the period from H2 2026 onwards. Watch the SkillsFuture website for announcements on the next SFEC tranche.

Practical Tips for Maximising SFEC

Several strategies can help Singapore employers get the most from their SFEC allocation:

Plan Training Programmes Around Qualifying Providers

Not all training providers are SSG-approved. Before enrolling staff in any programme you intend to claim against SFEC, confirm that the programme and provider appear on the SSG’s list of qualifying activities. This is easy to overlook when managers book training informally — it is worth building a confirmation step into your procurement process.

Use SFEC for Leadership Development

Many Singapore SMEs default to using SFEC for frontline operational training. However, leadership and management development programmes — which are typically more expensive — offer better value against the S$10,000 credit. A single executive leadership programme can absorb a substantial portion of the credit meaningfully.

Coordinate with EDGE Grant Applications

Where a project qualifies for both EDGE and SFEC, structure the project scope carefully to ensure the workforce training component is clearly separated in your cost breakdown. This makes it easier to route the training portion through SFEC while the broader project costs go through EDGE.

Keep Records from Day One

SFEC claims require documentation: attendance records, invoices, proof of payment, and employee CPF/SDL contribution records. Keep these from the moment an activity starts, rather than scrambling to reconstruct them at claim time.

SFEC and Your Company Structure

SFEC is claimed at the individual company level — each Singapore-registered entity has its own S$10,000 credit. For businesses operating multiple Singapore entities (a trading company and a holding company, for example), each qualifying entity has its own SFEC eligibility — but only if it independently meets the SDL contribution threshold.

For businesses planning to incorporate a new Singapore company or restructure their existing entities, it is worth considering how the structure affects SFEC eligibility. Our guide to incorporating a Singapore private limited company covers the setup requirements. Understanding the corporate structure is also relevant for other grant eligibility — see our overview of the EDGE grant for how consolidated enterprise development grants interact with company-level requirements.

Conclusion

SFEC is one of Singapore’s most accessible government grants — a flat S$10,000 credit per eligible employer that requires no competitive application process, just proof that you have incurred qualifying costs. The most common reason businesses miss out on SFEC is simply not knowing it exists or not tracking qualifying expenditure when it happens.

Check your eligibility now. If your company qualifies and has incurred qualifying training or enterprise transformation costs, file your claim before the current cycle’s deadline. If you are planning workforce development activities for H2 2026, build SFEC into your planning from the start.

Raffles Corporate Services can assist Singapore businesses with corporate secretarial compliance, company incorporation, and grant readiness checks. For Singapore business news and updates on SkillsFuture and other enterprise programmes, Little Big Red Dot covers SME policy developments regularly.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services