SkillsFuture credits can be used for more than 30,000 new online courses from Aug 28 (2024)

SINGAPORE – Starting from Aug 28, Singaporeans can access more than 30,000 new courses on two online learning platforms using their SkillsFuture credits.

Learners can offset a 12-month subscription fee on Coursera and Udemy Business to get access to courses on topics such as data science, business management and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Coursera subscription gives access to more than 7,700 courses, 2,500 guided projects – tutorials for new skills – and 130 professional certificates, while Udemy’s subscription will give access to 27,000 online courses.

Singaporeans aged 25 and above can offset the subscription fees for the two platforms by using the SkillsFuture opening credit of $500 and the one-off top-up of $500 given in 2020.

The subscriptions can be claimed via the MySkillsFuture portal.

Singaporean learners can start enrolling for courses offered by Coursera from Aug 28 to Sept 25, as enrolment opens up every quarter.

Registration and purchase options of the Coursera subscription are available at any time through third-party siteReallyLesson.com, which is Coursera’s partner for SkillsFuture credits claims.

Registrations for Udemy accounts are open until Sept 15, and will open every quarter. Enrolment in Udemy courses is available year-round once users have activated their accounts.

Annual subscription fees forCoursera is$499 and for Udemy Business, $499.22 per user (including 9 per cent GST).

Coursera has more than a million Singapore-based learners, said its managing director for Asia-Pacific Raghav Gupta, with the company seeing record enrolment in generative AI (GenAI) courses in 2024.

“(The ability to use SkillsFuture credits) will hopefully complement that adoption we have seen in Singapore,” he added.

Singapore-based users rank 12th in the world and second in the Asia-Pacific in skills proficiency, Mr Gupta said, as he shared findings from Coursera’s annual global skills report.

These rankings represent how learners perform across countries in the fields of business, technology and data science.

Countries are ranked by skills proficiency, as well as other indicators such as application of skills to innovation, labour force participation, human capital index and gross domestic product per capita.

Learners in Singapore are ranked 11th worldwide in their proficiency in business and technology skills, and 15th in data science skills. The top five skills in Singapore are epidemiology, fintech, resilience, blockchain and investment management.

The Coursera global skills annual report, which covers more than 148 million learners and 7,000 institutional partners, captures trends in the learning landscape such as emerging skills.

Mr Gupta noted an 815 per cent year-on-year increase in 2024 in enrolment in GenAI courses, with Singapore learners ranking in the top 10 globally for enrolment in these courses, leading South-east Asia.

Millennials accounted for 65 per cent of the enrolment, followed by Generation X at 24 per cent and Generation Z at 8 per cent.

This ties in with Singapore’s focus on developing its AI capabilities as part of the Government’s National AI Strategy 2.0, said Mr Gupta.

Alongside AI, Singaporean learners focused on acquiring financial skills in 2024, with four of the top 10 skills acquired through the courses offered by Coursera being related to finance.

Skills in digital and green economies are a key growth area for Singaporean learners, said Mr Gupta.

There was a 57 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024 in enrolment for professional certificates, or industry micro-credentials, where the top three certifications focused on in-demand digital skills such as data analytics and cyber security.

“At the Asia-Pacific level, we have seen learners come back to us and say that they have received a 20 per cent increase in their salary because of the skills and credentials gained by taking these professional certificates,” said Mr Gupta.

He added that 34 per cent of learners in Asia-Pacific also said they were able to land a job interview or feel confident about a specific interview they were going to.

Mr Gupta said that with learners being able to use credits to access courses, he hopes that learning becomes more available and accessible.

“Let’s make learning available in a very visible and easy manner, where the funding you need to use the subscriptions is no longer the blocker,” he said, adding that Coursera is expecting to see an increase in enrolment.

“We are expecting that this will significantly help learning within Singapore,” he said.

Udemy announced on Aug 6 that it was collaborating with Republic Polytechnic to offer a subscription that grants access to courses on business, technical and professional skills.

Udemy president and chief executive Greg Brown said: “This collaboration aligns with our mission to transform lives through learning and provide an environment where everyone, everywhere has access to the skills they need to unlock their potential and create opportunities for themselves and others.”