FAQ

All food handler need to attend and passed competent in Food Safety Course Level 1. A food handler is any person who handles and prepares food and beverages in food establishments licensed by Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Chefs, sous chefs, cooks, kitchen assistants, food stall assistants, and food manufacturing workers are considered food handlers as they are primarily involved in food manufacturing and preparation. Food manufacturing and preparation may involve activities such as culturing, canning, deboning, cutting, defrosting, cooking, packing of food in raw or cooked form, among others. Managers (e.g. restaurant manager, operations manager, food manufacturing factory manager, quality assurance/control manager), captains, waiters, cashiers, dishwashers, cleaners, logistics staff, maintenance staff, technologists (e.g. food technologist, laboratory technologist, quality assurance/control technologist) and other service staff are generally not considered food handlers as they are not directly involved in food manufacturing and preparation. They will be considered as food handlers only if they are also involved in the handling and preparation of food and beverages.
Food handlers working in SFA-licensed food establishments must be registered with SFA. Licensees can log in to GoBusiness Licensing website via CorpPass (if licence is under company) or SingPass (if licence is under individual name), search for the Licence > Action > Amend, to update details of food handlers. SFA has launched the Food Handlers Digital DataHub (FHD2H) in April 2023. Accessible at the following link https://fhd2hub.sfa.gov.sg, it is a platform whereby Approved Training Organisations and Food Business Operators can register the particulars of individuals who have passed the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Food Safety Courses (Level 1 and Level 2). Food handlers can also login to the FHD2H, to register themselves with SFA. Individuals can use their SingPass while food business licensees can use CorpPass to access the FHD2H.
Food handlers should attend refresher course by 5th year from the date of first passing the WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1. 2nd and subsequent refresher training should takes place on every 10th year from the date of passing the previous refresher training.
Food handlers may take up WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1 (FSC L1), WSQ FSC L1 (Refresher), WSQ FSC L1 Assessment Only Pathway or WSQ Food Safety Course Level 2 (FSC L2). Upon successful completion of the assessment for any of the above training options, a Statement of Attainment (SOA) will be awarded to the participants, certifying that they have met the requirement for refresher training for food handlers. They would only need to attend their next refresher training by the 10th year from the date of passing the course. The same training options applies at the 10th year. SFA continues to recognise the Refresher Food Hygiene Course certificate awarded by the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), issued from October 2010 to June 2014. Food handlers who have attained the ITE Refresher Food Hygiene Course certificate are only required to attend their subsequent refresher training 10 years from the date that the Refresher Food Hygiene Course certificate was awarded.
Licensees of the following categories of food establishments have been required to appoint a senior staff member (such as a chief chef, sous chef, restaurant manager, operations manager, or supervisor) to be trained as a FHO. i. Restaurant a. Housed in two or more adjacent units in private and HDB shophouses; or b. With kitchen area exceeding 16m2 ii. Caterer iii. Canteen iv. Food court
Course Fee Funding and Training Allowance are available to self-sponsored individuals. Refer to the table below for the course fee funding for self- sponsored individuals. SCs and PRs (Self-sponsored individuals must be at least 21 years old) could enjoy funding support of up to 50% of course fees. SCs aged ? 40 years old ( SkillsFuture Mid-career Enhanced Subsidy) could enjoy funding support of up to 70% of course fees.
UTAP is a training benefit for NTUC members to defray their cost of training. This benefit is to encourage more NTUC members to go for skills upgrading. NTUC members enjoy 50% unfunded** course fee support for up to $250 each year when you sign up for courses supported under UTAP. NTUC members aged 40 and above will get increased funding support from $250 to $500. For Singaporean employees: • 40 years old and above: Up to 70% enhanced course fee subsidies under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy (MCES) • Below 40 years old: Up to 50% • For Permanent Resident and LTVP+ employees: • All ages: Up to 50% Singaporean, PR and LTVP+ employees of all age groups: Up to 70%. If there is a change to your SME organisation’s status, you will need to submit a SME declaration to be eligible for enhanced course fee funding. SME Eligibility Criteria: • Registered or incorporated in Singapore • Your organisation’s employment size must not exceed 200, OR your organisation’s annual sales turnover must not exceed S$100 million • Please check the summary of course fee rates before deciding. • In most cases, the course fee subsidies are automatically computed and deducted from the course fee. • You only need to pay the net course fee and GST to the training provider. • You are advised to check with the training provider on the net course fee after SSG subsidies and GST before enrolling your employee to a training course. The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) is a S$10,000 credit provided by the government to further encourage enterprises to embark on business and workforce transformation (i.e. training). SFEC provides an additional 90% funding support for out-of-pocket expenses when eligible enterprises send their employees for SSG-funded training courses. Find out your SFEC balance by logging in to the SkillsFuture Singapore’s SFEC microsite. There is no application required for SFEC. Enterprises that are eligible for SFEC will be notified by Enterprise Singapore in writing. An example of how you can tap on SFEC: Full course fee (without subsidy) $950.00 Baseline course fee funding (50% of course fee) - $475 Enhanced Training Subsidy for SMEs (ETSS) (20% of course fee) - $190 Out-of-pocket expense after subsidies $285 Additional SFEC funding (90% of remaining cost) - $256.50 *Final cost to company $28.50 *Computation is for illustration purposes and subject to GST
Absentee Payroll (AP) funding is a grant to help defray some manpower costs incurred when you send your Singaporean, Permanent Resident and LTVP+ employees for SSG-funded training. • AP funding rate: Flat rate fixed at S$4.50 per hour • Each organisation’s cap: S$100,000 per calendar year You will be asked to declare your employees’ hourly salary information (before CPF deduction) on the Enterprise Portal for Jobs and Skills for AP claim. Use the AP calculator to find out the indicative amount you can claim. Where to access the claims services All claim services can be accessed on the AP funding page. AP funding will be disbursed via PayNow within two and a half weeks after submission of the AP Declaration.

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