NTUC Introduces $1.2 million Grant to Support Youths Facing Hardship

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is introducing a $1.2 million NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant for children of lower-income members to complete their full-time studies during times of hardship. The grant provides much-needed support and assurance to youth in times of adversity brought on by loss of income, such as serious chronic medical condition, total/partial and permanent disability or death of their parents, who are NTUC members.

New NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) Grant

The new NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant demonstrates NTUC’s care and action to alleviate the financial burden of the families and provide targeted support for tertiary students¹ in full-time studies in Institutes of Higher Learning in Singapore. Supplementing other existing NTUC assistance programmes that typically provide one-off aid to vulnerable members, this new grant provides an annual stipend to affected youth in full time studies until they complete their first tertiary certificate, or up till four years (whichever is earlier). The grant is fully funded by NTUC Foundation to aid vulnerable members through NTUC U Care initiatives.

The application period for the grant opens from 27 May 2024, Monday and NTUC members who meet the eligibility criteria²  may submit their applications via OneCARE system at https://ucare.ntuc.org.sg/assistance/. For deceased members, their next-of kin may approach their respective NTUC-affiliated Union / Association to assist with the application. For more information on the NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant, visit https://www.ntuc.org.sg/youthenablegrant ^3.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said, “NTUC U Care fund aims to better the welfare of our lower-wage members and their families. We want to strengthen this support by introducing a new programme aimed at giving parents peace of mind that NTUC will be there to support their children. With the NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant, we will assist these youth to continue their education should their parents who are union members, encounter chronic medical condition, partial/total and permanent disability or death. NTUC wants to journey alongside our youths and help them achieve their aspirations in the event that their parents are unable to.”

The NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant is testament to NTUC’s ongoing efforts to champion the interests and welfare of our members. Other efforts include initiatives to help members cope with cost of living and lessen the financial burden of daily essentials. For example, the NTUC Care Fund (Special Assistance) was reintroduced in June of last year. About $880,000 was disbursed to support close to 7,500 beneficiaries for application period 5 June to 21 July 2023 and about $790,000 was disbursed to support close to 7,200 beneficiaries for application period from 6 March to 3 Aril 2024. Additionally in 2023, the NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) assisting lower-income union members with essential expenses, distributed close to $1.7 million electronically to nearly 10,000 members and over 8,000 children for the new school year. The application period was from 1 November to 15 December 2023. For more information on NTUC-U Care Fund assistance programmes, visit https://www.ntuc.org.sg/UCareFund.

NTUC May Day Family Fiesta 2024

The announcement of NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant was made in conjunction with this year’s NTUC May Day Family Fiesta event held at Downtown East on 25 May 2024, Saturday. An annual event held exclusively for NTUC union members to promote family bonding, the event this year saw more than 25,000 participants enjoying a fun-filled day with their families. NTUC President K Thanaletchimi, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and the NTUC Central Committee members joined families in the festivities and gave out prizes to three lucky winners.

Some key event highlights include exciting carnival games, entertaining stage performances and interactive activities. These also include trampoline fitness, music performance by NTUC-affiliated National Instructors and Coaches Association members and family-friendly activities such as Giant Jenga, family dice roll and finger painting. 20 participants will receive prizes including one lucky winner who will receive a total of $1,000 worth of Downtown East vouchers for their participation in an outdoor Escape Room activity. Winners will be notified a few days following the event.

In addition, Wild Wild Wet, the adventure water theme park, opened its doors from 10.00am, an hour earlier from its usual opening hours for the event and was a crowd-pleaser with many seeking relief from the heat. The theme park offered various kid-friendly rides to adrenaline pumping slides for families and thrill-seekers.


NTUC Cares For Our Vulnerable Members

NTUC will continue to provide targeted assistance to meet the unique needs of specific segment of workers. We are looking into developing new initiatives to assist our members in various worker segment groups. More details will be shared in due course. NTUC would also like to rally for more support from the community to empower lower-wage workers to have a better quality of life by uplifting their wages, welfare, and work prospects.


¹ Singapore Institutes of Higher Learning1 (“IHLs”) refers to local Institutes of Technical Education (ITE), Polytechnics and Universities. Terms and conditions apply.
² Eligibility criteria include: Gross Household Income of $4,400 and below, OR Per Capita Income of $1,100 and below if Gross Household Income exceeds $4,400
³ Link will be active from 25 May, after 5pm. Please refer to factsheet on the NTUC Care Fund (Youth Enable) grant in Annex A.