The NTUC CTC Grant playbook.

What is the NTUC CTC Grant Singapore?

The NTUC CTC Grant is part of a S$300 million Government commitment to scale up NTUC Company Training Committees (CTCs) from 2022 to 2028. Administered by NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), it co-funds up to 70% of qualifying cost for transformation projects that produce both better business outcomes AND better worker outcomes. The application deadline has been extended to 31 March 2028.

It's the workforce-side companion to PSG (which funds the AI tool) and EDG (which funds capability uplift). For deep reading on Nick's framing of why most CTC applications fail, see Why Most Companies Miss the CTC Grant.

The two-outcome rule (this is what most applicants miss)

CTC is uniquely structured to fund transformation that benefits both the business AND its workers. Your plan must produce:

• Enterprise transformation — enhanced business capabilities, innovation, or productivity uplift; AND
• Workforce transformation — better career prospects + better wages for local workers (Singapore Citizens / Singapore PRs). You must commit to AT LEAST ONE of these three options:
  • Wage increase for affected workers; and/or
  • Recurrent Skills Allowance (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly) OR a One-time Allowance — amount commensurate with project scale; and/or
  • Implemented Career Development Plan (CDP) that is communicated to staff.

This worker-outcome requirement is the line that separates CTC from a normal training grant — and it's where most applications stall. See The NTUC Ecosystem for context on how the broader NTUC framework backs this up with career coaching and wage-growth tracking.

Who can apply

• Entities legally registered or incorporated in Singapore — companies, societies, non-profit organisations, charities, social service agencies
• Not eligible: Government bodies, statutory boards, organs of state, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Government
• Must form a Company Training Committee (CTC) — joint employer + worker representative body
• Must validate the transformation plan with a CTC senior management representative (Owner / MD / CEO / GM / key decision maker) AND a NTUC / Worker representative (Union President / Executive Secretary / General Secretary for unionised companies, U SME Director for U SME CTC, NTUC Cluster Lead for other partners)

For more on getting the CTC structure right and what it unlocks beyond just grant access, see CTC Framework Singapore.

What the CTC Grant funds — 4 components, not just training

Most owners think CTC = training subsidy. It funds four distinct cost lines, all tied to a transformation plan that produces worker AND business outcomes:

1. Equipment — physical hardware required for the transformation (e.g. machinery, devices, integration hardware tied to the redesigned workflow).
2. Software — including AI tools, integration work, and custom software/IT outside the PSG vendor catalogue. This is where the AI deployment itself lives.
3. Consultancy— scoping, design, and workforce-redesign advisory. The consultant fee is itself eligible — rare across Singapore grants and one of CTC's most underused features.
4. Training — in-house OR external non-SSG-supported courses tied to the transformation project. In-house training is funded at S$9/hour; external non-SSG courses funded up to 70% of course fee (funding caps may apply).

Funding quantum is assessed on (a) strength of the project from a business transformation perspective AND (b) cost of the project in relation to the committed worker outcomes. Both must be credible. To be eligible for claims disbursement, the applicant must meet the committed worker outcomes as stated in the Letter of Award.

The under-discussed reason owners want CTC

On paper, the 70% subsidy is the headline. In practice, the reason serious owners go through the CTC process is the worker outcome basis: the committed outcome for impacted staff is typically tied to the national average wage increment for that role. When the transformation lifts wages in line with the national average for the impacted function, the worker side of the case writes itself — and that makes the funding quantum stronger.

That detail isn't spelled out on the e2i website. You only learn it after going through the process — which is exactly why so few owners apply.

The honest note on the CTC application process

CTC has no open online application form. Unlike PSG or EDG, you don't fill in a portal and submit. The process is partner-walked — typically through NTUC's e2i, U SME (NTUC SME), or a consultant who has been through it before. This is the single biggest reason CTC is under-used.

I've been through CTC formation and the e2i process directly. I'm not selling a CTC application service, but on a personal level — if you're considering CTC and want a walk-through of what to expect, message meand I'll share what I learned. Full walk-through here: How to form a Company Training Committee in Singapore.

The PSG + EDG + CTC stack (how serious SMEs win)

The smartest Singapore AI consultants design transformation projects so all three grants apply in parallel with cleanly separated scopes:

• PSG (50%) — funds the off-the-shelf AI tools deployed (capped S$30k per UEN)
• EDG (50% SME) — funds the custom AI builds, consultant work, capability uplift
• CTC (up to 70%) — funds the equipment, software, consultancy and training that lands the transformation in the impacted team's day-to-day

Combined effective subsidy on a well-structured S$100k+ AI transformation often lands at 55–60% of total project cost. See NTUC CTC Grant Singapore: 70% Funding for the full stacking math.

How to apply — step by step

1. Form a Company Training Committee in your business if you don't already have one. If you're unionised, the union helps. If you're non-unionised, NTUC SME (U SME) can assist.
2. Develop a transformation plan with clear worker AND business outcomes. Specify the wage increase amount or the Career Development Plan you'll implement.
3. Discuss and validate the plan with: (a) your CTC senior management representative, and (b) your NTUC / Worker representative.
4. Engage e2i to review your project application before submission (strongly recommended — they'll flag gaps before they become rejections).
5. Submit via the e2i Grant Portal at grants.e2i.com.sg. Email and hardcopy submissions have not been accepted since 1 January 2023.
6. After approval (Letter of Award issued): execute project, achieve the committed worker outcomes, then submit your Claim Form + Outcome Report to ctcgrant@e2i.com.sg no later than 1 month after the end date in your Letter of Award.

How an AI Consultant in Singapore makes CTC actually work

CTC is the grant most rejected for the wrong reason: applicants think it's a training subsidy. It's not — it's a workforce-transformation grant with a measurable worker-outcome requirement and a senior-management-plus-NTUC-rep validation step. An AI consultant who understands both the AI tooling AND the workforce-transformation framework can design a CTC plan that survives both validations. Talk to me about your AI CTC Grant strategy →

Related Singapore AI grants

• AI PSG Grant Singapore — 50% subsidy for off-the-shelf AI tools (capped S$30k)
• AI EDG Grant Singapore — 50% subsidy for custom AI transformation projects
• MRA Grant Singapore — 70% subsidy for taking your transformed business into new overseas markets
• SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) — S$10k auto-credit covering 90% of OOP on CTC + PSG + EDG (expires Nov 2026)
• All Singapore SME grants compared