What is it

Talent-Assistance (T-Assist) is an initiative under IMDA’s Media Manpower Plan that aims to strengthen the media capabilities of the local workforce. Under the initiative, funding support is provided to eligible companies and individuals to encourage them to acquire deeper skills and competencies through a list of pre-approved media courses, focusing on courses at intermediate and advanced levels.

To build a strong core of media talents, T-Assist had been expanded to support all local workforce from April 2019.

The list of pre-approved courses can be accessed on Infocomm Competency Management System (ICMS) website. Select “T-Assist: SF (1 April 2019 – 31 March 2021)” under Library of Courses.

Available courses can be found under Training and Courses 

Who is it for

  • Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents
  • Companies registered or incorporated in Singapore

Benefits

  • Training grant
  • Training allowance (For Media Freelancers)

For enquiries

For more information, you can refer to T-Assist FAQ or contact us at talent_assistance@imda.gov.sg

Programme Support

From 1 April 2019, the funding support is as below:

CategoryTrainee TypeSingaporean CitizenSingaporean PR
Organisation-sponsoredNon-SME-SponsoredUp to 70% of course fee capped at $3,000
SME-SponsoredUp to 90% of course fee capped at $3,000
40 year old and aboveUp to 90% of course fee capped at $3,000Up to 70% of course fee capped at $3,000
Self-sponsoredLess than 40 year oldUp to 70% of course fee capped at $3,000
40 year old and aboveUp to 90% of course fee capped at $3,000Up to 70% of course fee capped at $3,000
Media FreelancerCourse fee subsidy: Up to 90% of course fee capped at $3,000
Training allowance: Up to $7.50 per training hour. Total grant per course (sum of course fee subsidy and training allowance) will be capped at the course fee amount.

Overall training allowance per Freelancer per FY will be capped at $6,500.

Eligibility Criteria

Sponsoring Organisation
  • Registered or incorporated in Singapore
  • Trainee must be Singapore Citizen or Singaporean Permanent Resident
  • Trainee must be employed by the company and sponsored by the company for the training cost
  • Trainee must have met 75% attendance of the course
  • Trainee must have passed assessment (where applicable)
  • SMEs who wish to apply for 90% funding will be defined based on Enterprise SG definition1 and will be required to submit a declaration form (download a copy of Form T1: Company’s Declaration of SME Status in the “Guides and Forms” section below)
  • Government entities are not eligible as sponsoring organisation
Self-sponsored individual
  • Trainee must be Singapore Citizen or Singaporean Permanent Resident
  • Trainee must have met 75% attendance
  • Trainee must have passed assessment (where applicable)
Media Freelancer
  • Trainee must be Singapore Citizen or Singaporean Permanent Resident
  • Trainee must have met 75% attendance of the course
  • Trainee must have passed assessment (where applicable)
  • Must show evidence (e.g invoice/receipt from hiring company) of being contracted in at least one media freelance project performing eligible media job roles in the past six months. Eligible media job roles are defined by the job roles listed in Skills Framework for Media.
Media Freelancer is defined as:
  • A person who does not have a contract of service with an employer AND
  • Operates his/her own media service business or trade without hiring any employees; AND
  • He/She negotiates his/her terms and benefits with clients, and it is clearly stated in the contract that it is his/her service as an individual that is being procured for all intents and purposes; AND
  • He/ She can either operate as individuals; OR have an Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) - registered entity such as sole proprietorships, Limited Liability Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and companies, where such entity does not hire any employees.


1. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are defined by Enterprise SG with the following conditions:
  • Minimum 30% local shareholding; AND
  • Company’s Group* annual sales turnover not more than S$100 million; OR
  • Company’s Group* employment size not more than 200 workers

* A company’s Group comprises:

  • Its direct and indirect1 holding company2, traced to the ultimate holding company3;
  • Its direct and indirect subsidiaries4

1 Indirect shareholding refers to the shareholding that is held through another corporation
2 Refers to corporation which holds >50% shareholding of the company
3 Refers to holding company which is not itself a subsidiary of any corporation
4 Refers to corporation with >50% of its shareholding held by the company

Application Procedure

Application process

APPLICATION PROCESS

Claim application

  1. All sponsoring organisations and self-sponsored individuals will need to have a IMDA Infocomm Competency Management System (ICMS) account in order to submit a T-Assist claim application. If you do not have an account yet, you may register for one here. Refer to the user guide below on a step by step process on account creation.
  2. For organization-sponsored trainees, claim applications have to be submitted by the sponsoring-organisation. Sponsoring organisations will need CorpPass ID to access ICMS. To find out more and/or register for CorpPass, please click here.
  3. For self-sponsored trainees, claim applications has to be completed by the individuals. Self-sponsored individuals will need SingPass ID and password to access ICMS. To find out more and/or register for SingPass, please click here.
  4. All claim applications must be submitted online via ICMS within 3 months from the date of completion of the course. Late submissions will not be accepted. Applications with incomplete supporting documents will be rejected.
  5. Applicants must upload and attach the supporting documents via ICMS when submitting online applications. The supporting documents are:
    1. A copy of trainee's NRIC (front and back)
    2. Direct Credit Authorisation (DCA) form (GIRO form)
    3. Invoice and official receipt issued by Course Provider for the fees paid by Applicant
    4. Attendance sheet to show fulfilment of at least 75% attendance
    5. Certificate of Completion/Attendance
    6. Post-training report on the training outcome, to include skills acquired, outcome achieved and relevance to work where applicable
    7. SkillsFuture Credit Claim Application transaction history (For self-sponsored trainees who are aged 25 and above and applying for courses supported by SkillsFuture Credit)
    8. For Media Freelancers who wish to apply for training allowance – Evidence (e.g invoice/receipt) of being contracted in at least one freelance media project in the past 6 months from application date
    9. For SMEs who wish to apply for 90% funding – Form T1 Company's Declaration of SME Status
    10. For applicants below 18 years old - Form T2 Parent/Guardian's Consent
    11. Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) statement (For self-sponsored trainee who are aged 30 and above and applying for courses supported under PSEA)

Guides and Forms

Sponsoring Organisations & Individuals

Course Providers

  1. General Information
  2. Skills Framework for Media Mapping

ICMS Guides

For enquiries

For more information, you can refer to T-Assist FAQ or contact us at talent_assistance@imda.gov.sg

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