In a bid to increase the value add per worker by approximately 20% by the end of 2013, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has injected S$20 million worth of funding into two of its five key strategic thrusts – the Talent Assistance and Enterprise Assistance programs.
With effect of 1 July 2012 and for the next five years, S$15 million will be channelled into two new productivity measures – training allowance and enhanced apprenticeship – under the Talent Assistance program while the remaining S$5 million will go into process improvement initiatives under the Enterprise Assistance program.
According to data from the MDA, Singapore’s media industry comprises of seven sub-sectors, including broadcasting, publishing, printing, games & software, online media, film & video and music. The industry registered S$7.16 billion worth of value add in 2010. Its workforce is currently 72,700 strong and of these, approximately 29,000 are freelance professionals. Furthermore, 95% of Singapore’s media industry comprises of startups that have an annual revenue of under S$10 million.
In gist, the measures under the Talent and Enterprise Assistance programs are as follows:
Training Allowance
The Training Allowance initiative encourages freelance media professionals to benefit from Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) and non-WSQ courses without having to worry about the potential loss of income forgone while taking the course.
A freelancer may claim up to S$1,800 of training allowance per month, capped at S$9,000 over five years. On top of this, he or she may enjoy up to 90% subsidy of the course fees, capped at S$15,000 per year.
Enhanced Apprenticeship
The Enhanced Apprenticeship initiative allows media practitioners in key creditable roles such as executive producers, cinematographers, script writers, copy editors, animation artists, gaffers and set directors to gain invaluable experience through work attachments.
The program is open to media employees and freelancers alike and successful candidates may receive up to S$3,200 monthly for local attachments or up to S$3,800 per month as well as a one-off grant of S$3,000 for airfare and insurance for overseas attachments.
Like the Training Allowance program, the Enhanced Apprenticeship grant is capped at S$9,000 over five years.
Process Improvements
This Process Improvement initiative aims to help media agencies that have chosen to form a Singapore company to achieve higher productivity and efficiency through better processes in areas such as content creation, content asset workflow management and automation.
Successful firms may receive up to S$150,000 or a maximum of 30% of the total qualifying cost of the project to deliver those processes. On top of the funding, firms are automatically eligible for the 400% tax deductions via the PIC Scheme Guide (PIC Scheme) should they invest in any qualifying activity.
The funding is available only to:
- Singaporeans and Permanent Residents
- Singapore-registered companies listed in the Media Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) Code.
To view the full release, please visit https://www.mda.gov.sg/
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