Written answer by Ministry of National Development on instalment payment plans for skills upgrading courses offered by BCA Academy

Nov 6, 2023

Question No: 5372

Question by: Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the BCA Academy provides instalment plans for Singaporeans who wish to undertake skills upgrading courses offered by the Academy but have financial challenges in raising the course fees at one go; and (b) if it does not, whether the Academy will consider allowing such Singaporeans to pay by instalments instead of expecting them to raise the full fees before enrolling in their courses.

Answer:

          As part of our Built Environment (BE) sector transformation efforts, we want to encourage our workforce to continually upgrade their skills. That is why the BCA Academy (BCAA) offers a wide range of programmes targeted at all segments of the Built Environment workforce - from professionals to technicians and construction personnel.

2.       To ensure that its courses remain affordable and accessible, BCAA adopts a cost recovery pricing approach. This means that the fees are set based on the course duration and resources involved in organising and delivering the course. For instance, the Site Management of Precast Concrete Construction course costs $550. This is a 10-hour course that equips construction managers with the knowledge to plan and manage precast concrete construction site activities effectively. BCAA also offers longer courses, like the Specialist Diploma in Computational Building Information Modelling (BIM). Each module of the Specialist Diploma costs $3,500 and runs for three months. The course is designed for professionals in the Built Environment sector who are keen to use computational methods for building projects. Overall, the median fee for courses targeted at technicians and construction personnel is $750, while the median fee for professionals is $1,850.

3.       In addition, the Government offers generous funding support for Singaporeans in their upskilling journey. Singaporeans may receive funding support of up to 70% of course fees for approved courses, including those offered by BCAA. To illustrate, this means that a Singaporean only needs to pay $300 to take up an approved course that costs $1,000 (excluding GST). Singaporeans can also use their SkillsFuture Credit to pay the remaining course fees, further lowering the upfront payment they need to make. The Government also encourages employers to do their part in upskilling their employees by providing training subsidies and absentee payroll funding for approved courses.

4.       Taken together, the vast majority of Singaporeans do not have difficulty in paying for BCAA’s courses. We receive very few appeals for additional financial support. This year, only five out of the over 16,000 course applicants submitted appeals to BCAA. We look at each case carefully and our general approach is to encourage the appellant to explore the various support schemes available, including linking them up with relevant community self-help groups.

5.       Even so, we understand that some applicants may not wish to pay for the full course fees upfront. As such, instead of offering instalment plans, BCAA has been reviewing and repackaging its longer courses into bite-sized learning modules to make them more affordable and accessible. Under such a system, instead of paying for the entire course upfront, students only need to pay fees for each module as they progress. BCAA is also considering this “pay as you learn” approach for more of its shorter courses. On top of reducing the upfront payment for participants, this gives them flexibility to decide whether to complete the full course or just selected modules.