\n<\/p>\n
At Ngee Ann Polytechnic, interest in hobby and lifestyle courses has spiked. These include drone piloting, fish rearing, dog grooming and smartphone photography.<\/p>\n
The institute of higher learning recorded nearly 2,000 SkillsFuture course sign-ups in the first half of December alone, far exceeding the 300 to 350 enrolments seen per month earlier in the year.<\/p>\n
It expects demand to continue rising as the year-end deadline to use the credit top-up approaches.<\/p>\n
Some courses are up to three times as popular this year compared to last year, the polytechnic said.<\/p>\n
Ms Lin Xin, director of Ngee Ann Polytechnic\u2019s Continuing Education and Training Academy, gave an example of a learner who decided to take up more courses after their first one.<\/p>\n
\u201c(This) learner actually chalked up all 11 modules, and even though they finished their SkillsFuture credit, they continued paying their own money with SkillsFuture subsidies to finish up the course run,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
For 55-year-old Barbara Lina Lei, SkillsFuture credits helped her become a certified aromatherapy instructor and adult trainer.<\/p>\n
She is now helping her son and others make the most of their credits through online platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a massive amount of courses \u2013 so anything that’s related to animation, gaming, which he’s into, he can find it on Coursera to actually help him to further (his skills),\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Such learning platforms are also experiencing a strong uptick in demand, with some reporting up to a seven-fold increase in enrolments from just three months ago.<\/p>\n
Coursera recorded a 40 per cent increase in enrolments from Singapore since becoming SkillsFuture-eligible in August 2024.<\/p>\n
ReallyLesson, which offers Coursera subscriptions, said demand is strongest for technical and career-focused courses.<\/p>\n
Republic Polytechnic said it saw a seven-fold increase in applications for the Udemy Business annual subscription plan in December, compared with its last intake in September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n