Union members who take up approved upgrading courses on their own can now get up to $500 per year under the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) to defray their learning costs. This is an increase from the annual cap of $250 in previous years. Over a period of 3 years, a member will be allowed to claim a maximum of $1000. 

The following example illustrates how the enhanced UTAP claim limit works:

Year 2012: Member attends a course which costs $1200. Member's 2012 UTAP claim will be $500, which is the lesser of 50% of course fees or $500.

Year 2013: Member attends a course which costs $600. Member's 2013 UTAP claim will be $300, which is 50% of course fees.

Year 2014: Member has claimed a total of $800 in the previous 2 years. Hence member's 2014 UTAP claim limit is $1,000 - $800 = $200.

For more information, please visit UTAP's website at: http://skillsupgrade.ntuc.org.sg.