Singapore – The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) aims to raise the Value Added per worker from the current S$98,500 to S$119,700 by end 2013 through a S$20 million funding boost into the industry.

Over the next five years, the S$20 million will be administered under the existing MDA Grant Schemes, with S$15 million going into one of its five schemes, ‘Talent Assistance’ to upgrade skills; and S$5 million going into another scheme, ‘Enterprise Assistance’, for process improvements.

The first of three new productivity measures is Training Allowance. This addresses the problem of freelancers being unable to benefit from absentee payroll and encourages them to upgrade and upskill. The second is Enhanced Apprenticeship, which aims to upskill experienced media practitioners by exposing them to work attachments. The third is Process Improvements. Administered under the existing Enterprise Assistance Grant Scheme, this new productivity grant will help media companies raise efficiency through process improvements, particularly in areas such as content creation, content asset workflow management and automation.