The grant is under the purview of VCF Professional Capability Grant. For more information on VCF Grants, please visit their website.

[UPDATE: There are new changes to the Claim Submission process of VCF Grants. Details can be found under Disbursement Procedures below.]

Note: VCF Funding has been revised from 100% to 75% of course fee, capped at $90,000.
Refer to changes below under Funding Quantum.

The grant provides funding for social service agency's staff to acquire their first recognised social work qualifications to become full-fledged Social Workers.

After obtaining the qualifications, recipients can apply for accreditation as Registered Social Worker-Provisional by applying to the Social Work Accreditation Board.

Staff (NCSS Member VWO), Staff (MSF funded VWOs), Singaporean or Singapore PRsBoth

1. All permanent staff (Singaporeans/PRs) of NCSS member social service agencies and MSF-funded social service agencies, who:
   • Are not receiving other government funding (except for the subsidy from Ministry of Education) for Graduate Diploma/Degree studies.
   • Do not qualify for other schemes such as Professional Conversion Package (PCP) for social workers.
   • Have been accepted into an approved Bachelor/Graduate Diploma programme
   • Have been employed in social services sector for at least 2 years at the point of application.
2. Funding will not be extended to courses that have already commenced.
3. Late applications will NOT be processed and also NOT be automatically moved to the next window.
4. Incomplete applications will NOT be processed.
5. Please note that approval of applications is on a first come, first served basis, subject to budget availability.

Conditions of Funding

• Accreditation as Registered Social Worker-Provisional
  Recipients must obtain accreditation status as Registered Social Worker Provisional (by Social Work Accreditation Board) within four months of obtaining their social work qualifications.
   
• Bond Duration
  Upon award of the grant, recipients are required to sign a VCF Deed and fulfil their bond duration with a NCSS-member social service agency upon completion of the course. The bond duration is as follows:
   

  	Nature of Training	Bond Duration
  a)	Bachelor Degree (3 years) (Part-time)	2 years
  b)	Bachelor Degree (<3 years) (Part-time)	1.5 years
  c)	Graduate Diploma (1 to 1.5 years) (Part-time)	1 year

  
  The social service agency staff supported is required under the VCF Deed to serve for a specified period (depending on the type of course supported and will be specified in the deed) in a social service agency, which is a member of the NCSS and/or funded by MSF, upon completion of the course. The social service agency staff supported is not obligated to enter into any further bonds outside of the VCF deed’s requirements with any parties (including the social service agency he/she is serving in) unless mutually agreed on their own accords. Such bonds if signed would be outside the requirements of the VCF funding and should in no way be related as a condition of VCF support to the staff.


• Liquidated Damages
  Grant awardee and their sureties are liable for Liquidated Damages (LD) in the event of non-compliance to the grant’s obligation. LD shall be the total disbursed amount, together with 10% compounded interest per annum on the disbursements made each year, compounded at end of the year. Payment should be made to NCSS in one lump sum within three months via cheque or cash.

Social service agency staff should pay the course fees to their tertiary institutions according to their payment schedules. Disbursements are made to the social service agency in three phases, as illustrated in the table below. Total disbursements are capped at $22,500, and should not exceed the supported funding quantum or actual course fees incurred, whichever is lower.
 

First Disbursement (Upon Signing of Deed)	Second Disbursement (Upon Completion of Course)	Final Disbursement (Upon Completion of Bond)
25% of course fee upon submission of Letter of Acceptance by Institution and a copy of signed agreement in soft copy.	Remaining 25% upon submission of the following documents:   Proof of status as registered Social Worker – Provisional by Social Work and Advisory Accreditation Board within four months of course completion. Transcript/letter from the institution certifying successful completion of course. All invoices/receipts for course fees paid	Final 25% upon submission of the following documents:    Letter from NCSS-member social service agency certifying the completion of bond period. Proof of status as Registered Social Worker (RSW) by Social Work and Advisory Accreditation.

*Note: We have made changes to the claim submission process and will no longer accept hard copy submissions. Please use the claim form provided for all claims, and email the completed form and supporting documents to the relevant processing officer shown at the bottom of this page. You can obtain a copy of the claim form from the processing officer if you do not have one.

Click here to see application submission closing dates and VCF Evaluation Panel Meeting dates.

All applications for the grant must reach the VCF Secretariat at least one month before the VCF Evaluation Panel meetings.

All applications will be submitted through the Funds Application System (FAS). Please login to e-Services using your CorpPass to access FAS.

Please select Funding Application type: PCG – Support for Acquiring Recognised Social Work Qualification FY17-FY21.

In view of the current COVID-19 situation, please access our e-services to minimise your time spent in public places. If you need to submit grant-related documents, please login to e-services (refer to Application Procedures above) or email/mail to the respective grant's contact person. Rest assured you will continue to receive quality service through our e-services.

Ms Ang Hui Zhen
Email: Ang_hui_zhen@ncss.gov.sg