Step by Step Guide: How to Apply for a CCP in Singapore

Last updated: 23 September 2026

Singapore’s Career Conversion Programme helps employers reskill new hires or upskill existing staff into newly designed roles, with 70% or 90% salary support and a per-placement cap of S$45,000. This guide walks through the six stages of a CCP application from eligibility check to first claim, with the artefacts an assessor expects at each stage and the timing employers should plan for. Employers hiring into sector-specific roles may also want to review our dedicated CCP for digital marketing roles and CCP for sustainability roles pathway guides.

1. Check your eligibility

The eligibility check is fast but the most expensive stage to skip. Three tests need to pass before any further work is done:

• Company is Singapore-registered (verified via ACRA business profile) and operating in a sector covered by an active CCP pathway
• Staff are Singapore Citizens or PRs, with CPF contribution history that supports the candidate’s declared work history
• Role is newly created or shows at least 50% change in scope for existing staff, with a JD that evidences the redesign rather than restating the previous role
• Candidate is not a shareholder or related party, and has not been previously funded for the same or substantially similar role under another programme

See eligible roles or request an eligibility check. The check is a 30-minute exercise that produces a written go or no-go memo.

2. Prepare the required documents

Skills and Workforce Development Agency (formerly Workforce Singapore) assessors read the documents as a single narrative. Date, title, and salary inconsistencies across the documents are the most common cause of clarification requests.

• ACRA Bizfile for the company, current within 30 days
• NRIC copies for the candidate, both sides
• Employment contract for the new or redesigned role, signed and dated
• Job description for the CCP role, with specific tools, decisions, and KPIs
• Salary proof or payslips showing the declared monthly salary
• Declaration forms from SWDA or the programme partner, signed by an authorised representative
• Candidate CV, with employment dates that match CPF contribution history

3. Develop a structured OJT plan

The OJT plan is the document an assessor spends the most time on. It should answer four questions on every page: what activity, supervised by whom, producing what artefact, assessed when. A passable OJT plan reads like a workplan; a strong OJT plan reads like a brief you could hand to a contractor.

• Role-specific learning objectives tied to a competency gap the candidate has today
• Milestones that name an artefact (a dashboard, a report, a policy) and the assessment moment
• Duration of the OJT, typically 3 to 6 months but up to 9 or 12 months for sector-specific pathways
• Supervisor or mentor with sufficient domain expertise to sign off on the artefact, not just a department head receiving status reports
• KPIs and assessment criteria aligned to SkillsFuture frameworks where they exist

See OJT and reskilling examples for three approved transitions and the OJT structure each used.

4. Complete the CCP application forms

Most CCP pathways use an online portal operated by the programme partner. Three habits we recommend before submission: first, complete the form in a single sitting so the narrative stays consistent; second, never leave a free-text field blank, even when it appears optional; third, save a copy of the final form locally so you can reproduce the submission for clarification handling. Field-level inconsistencies between the form and the supporting documents are the second most common cause of rejection after generic JDs.

5. Submit and respond to clarifications

Approval windows for CCP applications run roughly two to six weeks from submission, depending on pathway and current programme partner queue depth. Most applications attract at least one clarification request; how that request is handled determines whether the application clears the queue cleanly.

• Submit through the correct programme partner portal for the pathway you have chosen
• Monitor email (including spam folders) for queries from Skills and Workforce Development Agency or the partner
• Reply within 48 hours where possible; multi-day delays signal poor supervisory capacity
• Answer the question asked, in two paragraphs, with attached evidence rather than a paraphrase

6. Receive approval and implement OJT

Once approval is received, the OJT must be implemented as submitted. The supervisor named in the plan signs off each milestone, and a weekly OJT log captures activity, artefact, and assessment status. Salary support is reimbursed on a periodic basis (usually quarterly) once claims and supporting evidence are submitted. The first claim typically arrives in payroll one to two months after the first claim cycle closes, so cash flow planning should assume the salary continues to be paid in full by the employer until then.

For a worked example of how this six-stage flow plays out at a regulated SME, see our medtech Job Redesign Reskilling case study. For deeper coverage of each stage, including the artefacts the assessor expects, see our step-by-step CCP process guide for Singapore employers.

Realistic timing from first call to first claim

Employers consistently underestimate the elapsed time. A clean single-role application, run by an experienced advisory team with full employer cooperation, typically follows this rough timeline:

• Week 1. Eligibility check, pathway selection, and engagement scoping. Decision to proceed is made on a written go or no-go memo.
• Weeks 2 to 3. JD redesign and OJT plan drafting. The OJT plan typically goes through two internal review rounds before submission.
• Week 4. Document collation, candidate paperwork, declarations, and final submission package assembly.
• Weeks 5 to 10. Programme partner review and clarification rounds. Most applications attract one or two clarifications.
• Week 11. Approval letter received. OJT can begin or, if it has already begun, the eligibility window backdates to align with the candidate’s start date subject to the pathway rules.
• Months 4 to 6. First claim cycle closes. Salary support reimbursement reaches payroll one to two months after.

Multi-role cohort applications run on a similar but slightly longer cycle, because the OJT design and supervisor structure need to be co-ordinated across the cohort before submission. The trade-off is that the per-role effort is lower than running each application sequentially.

→ Next: Maximising funding with CCP vs JGI vs SFEC
Contact BizGrants for a free CCP eligibility check