The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) was established by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in January 1984 as a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence. Following recommendations from the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) in 2014, ACCORD was restructured in August 2014 with three Councils under its main ambit - an Employer and Business (E&B) Council, an Educational Institutions (EI) Council, and a Family and Community (F&C) Council - to tap on members' networks for greater participation and feedback on our National Service (NS) system, as well as for members to proactively engage the community and strengthen their support for National Service and Defence. 

ACCORD's 18 proposals with the aim of boosting support and recognition for National Service (NS) was submitted in February 2015 and accepted by MINDEF. To date, all 18 ACCORD proposals have been implemented. 

Proposals by the Employer and Business (E&B) Council

The E&B Council's proposals aim to strengthen the tripartite relationship between MINDEF/SAF-Employers-NSmen, recognise supportive employers and businesses, and address issues and challenges faced by employees. 

Early Notification of In-Camp Training for Employers. For employers to better support their NSmen employees' NS commitments to ICT, employers have been encouraged to sign-up for the service on the NS Portal, which provides employers with information on their employees' call-up and remedial training schedule. Having access to this information would facilitate employers' early planning and allow our NSmen to focus on their ICT. 

NS Information Package. Comprising an Employers Handbook and Employers Engagement Video, the information package seeks to enhance the understanding of NS within the business community. Both the handbook and video will be made available to employers and human resource practitioners, providing important information on the NS system, and how they can actively support NS and our NSmen. The resources will also support MINDEF's employer outreach events conducted at various businesses and organisations.

Revamped Total Defence Awards (TDA). The TDA was revamped to recognise a broader spectrum of NS advocates who have contributed towards NS and Total Defence. Beyond just businesses, the revamped TDA also recognises supportive educational institutions, community organisations as well as individuals. As part of the revamp, the Home Team National Service Awards for Employers, which were given out separately in the past, was integrated into the TDA. The revamped TDA represents a common award platform that collectively recognises exemplary public support for NS and NSmen from both the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team. In 2016, 126 individuals, businesses and organisations were awarded the NS Advocate Award for their outstanding support towards NS - the top accolade of MINDEF's Employer and Business Recognition Framework. 

NS Mark Accreditation Scheme. Launched in August 2016, the NS Mark is a national-level accreditation scheme that recognises businesses and organisations that have policies and human resource practices in place that support NS and our NSmen. The NS Mark aims to encourage businesses to adopt a more NS-friendly workplace culture which helps our NSmen to fulfil their NS obligations, while balancing their work and family commitments. The scheme comprises two tiers - the NS Mark and NS Mark (Gold). More information on the scheme and its application process can be found at www.NSmark.sg.

ICT Performance Feedback for Employers. To provide recognition of NSman employees' skills and attributes, a pilot implementation on In-Camp Training (ICT) performance feedback was conducted with employers of NSmen who completed the SAF's Command and Staff Course in 2015. In 2016, the initiative was expanded to the NS Battalion Regimental Sergeant Major Course as well. Employers were sent a letter, highlighting their employee's attributes that were demonstrated during the course, and the competencies acquired that would be beneficial to their work as well. Employers reflected that the letter allowed them to better understand the skills and qualities which their NSman employees have gained during the course. 

Enhanced Career Fair. To give full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) from the SAF, Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) more targeted job-matching opportunities and a wider range of learning and career options after their full-time NS, the inaugural Enhanced Career Fair was organised in November 2015. To date, five career fairs have been jointly organised by MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in collaboration with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and ACCORD. More than 13,000 NSFs from the SAF and the Home Team attended the fair, where employers, Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and Continuing Education and Training Centres offered employment and educational opportunities to the servicemen.

Proposals by the Family and Community (F&C) Council

The F&C Council's proposals aim to garner support and engender greater commitment to NS and defence from key stakeholders - family, community, women, New Citizens (NCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) - through raising their awareness of NS and the need for defence, deepening the engagement with them, and providing support and recognition for their contributions to NS. For example, the F&C Council launched the #NeverAgainSG movement  on Total Defence Day (15 Feb) in 2016 at the 49th War Memorial Service organised by Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This movement serves to remind Singaporeans of the vulnerabilities of our nation, and that support for NS is paramount for keeping our country strong and secure. 

Collaboration with Families for Life (FFL) to Strengthen Family Support. The Council collaborated with FFL to strengthen support for NS amongst families through the hosting of NS and defence materials on the revamped FFL website in August 2015, and the engagement of more than 3000 NSFs, NSmen, Regulars and their families at various FFL Celebrations events. 

Comprehensive Assistance for NSFs beyond Full-Time NS. ACCORD had worked with MINDEF and the Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF) to enhance financial assistance processes for servicemen to minimise the downtime for financial coverage pre- and post-full-time NS. The referral protocol established helps strengthen the system through early detection and referral of pre-enlistees in need of financial assistance to MSF. Pre-enlistees will be identified through declaration of financial hardship as part of the E-Documentation or application of Full-Time NS deferment submitted to MINDEF prior to enlistment.

"We Support YOU in NS" Initiative. Launched in Aug 2015, the "We Support YOU in NS" initiative aims to encourage businesses and merchants to show their appreciation for national servicemen by offering discounts and benefits. Through the SAFRA National Service Association and People's Association, this ground-up initiative has garnered the support of more than 330 merchants and retailers to offer discounts and benefits to national servicemen from the SAF, SPF and SCDF. The list of participating merchants and stores can be found at https://www.ns.sg/nsp/portal/site/ns-recognition-benefits.

Engaging Women through Women's Organisations. It is important to engage women on NS and defence as they are a key pillar of support for our NSmen. By partnering the Singapore Council of Women's Organisation, the Women's Integration Network of the People's Association, the Young Women's Leadership Connection, and Raffles Institution, ACCORD engaged close to three hundred mothers, wives and girlfriends over four information-sharing sessions from 2015 to 2016. Over 90% of the participants agreed that they better understand the need for NS and defence after the sessions and would encourage the men in their lives (e.g. father, husband, son, friend, boyfriend) to do their best in NS. 

Engage New Citizens (NCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) on NS and Defence. It is important for all NCs and PRs in our society to understand the need for defence and support the NS institution. To engage PRs, ACCORD has worked with the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) and Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) to distribute a "PR Handbook" with information on NS, defence and other relevant information. The Council also engaged ambassadors  with networks to NCs and PRs through visits to Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) and information packages so that they are equipped with relevant information to share with the NCs and PRs during their interactions.

Proposals by the Educational Institutions (EI) Council

The EI Council's proposals aim to raise awareness among students, parents and educators on matters related to NS and defence in schools under the Ministry of Education (MOE) / IHLs, as well as the Foreign System Schools (FSSs) and Privately Funded Institutions (PFIs). The proposals also seek to support students in their preparations for and transition after NS, and support the outreach efforts of the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC).

Total Defence (TD) Cohort Experience. In partnership with MOE and the Singapore Discovery Centre, a TD Cohort Experience for Primary 6 students was launched on TD Day 2015. For TD 2015 and TD 2016, students were required to pen and share their thoughts and reflections on TD. For TD 2017, MOE rolled out a TD card game - SG Unite! - to students to encourage continual discussions on TD amongst their friends and family members.

Enhanced National Education (NE) Programme in secondary schools. The EI Council will enhance NE for secondary schools by getting the schools' alumni who are SAF servicemen and staff within each school cluster to support their clusters' NE needs. The initiative has been rolled out to the Secondary Schools in two school clusters and will be expanded to six additional clusters.

Pilot Fitness Programmes. To help their pre-enlistee students get fit and physically ready for NS, four Post-Secondary Education Institutions (Anderson Junior College, ITE Colleges East and West and Temasek Polytechnic) took the lead and piloted their own fitness programmes in 2015. In 2016, ITE College Central started offering their fitness programme to students. More than 1000 pre-enlistee students have participated in the programmes in 2015 and 2016 with encouraging results. The institutions have seen improvements in the IPPT pass rate of the participating students. Moving forward, the Council is working to get more Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) on board. These schools also help prepare their students mentally for NS by organising sharing sessions where school alumni who are currently serving or had served NS are invited to share their NS experience with the students. More PSEIs are also encouraged to conduct similar sharing sessions for their students.

Supporting NSmen's Transition Back to Institutes of Higher Learning. More than 400 students from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) responded to a survey conducted by the EI Council to find out more about their need for pre-matriculation courses and refresher modules to help NSmen transit more smoothly back to school. The survey found that online modules or programmes were more popular among the students. In 2015, NUS added four new modules  to the existing eight modules on their Internal Blended Learning Online Courses. The universities will continue to review their programmes in view of the survey findings. In 2017, the six public universities - NUS, NTU, SMU, SIT, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Singapore Institute of Technology - also launched a common Massive Open Online Course to discuss topics related to socio-economic issues and challenges that Singapore will face in the next 50 years. 

Partner IHLs to help NSmen manage their NS ICT call-ups and academic commitments. Starting from Academic Year 2016, SIM University (UniSIM) has been working with MINDEF to help NSmen manage their ICT call-ups and academic commitments by not scheduling academic programmes during specific periods in their vacation windows when NSmen will be called back for ICT. MINDEF also has similar existing arrangements with NUS, NTU and SMU to allow NSmen to better manage their ICT call-ups and academic commitments.

Outreach to Foreign System Schools and Privately-Funded Institutions. Singaporean and PR students attending FSSs and PFIs go through different curriculums and have fewer touch-points on NS and defence as compared to the MOE schools. Through the EI Council, the United World College South East Asia will be organising an NS Information Session for pre-enlistees and parents in September in 2017 that will be larger in scale than the previous session held in 2015. Other schools, such as Global Indian International School, have also started organising their own sessions to help pre-enlistees understand the importance and need for NS and defence. 

Encourage SAF Volunteer Corps participation. The EI Council helped to encourage students in the PSEIs to participate in the SAFVC. Since 2015, over 400 SAFVC Volunteers (SVs) had completed their basic training through six intakes, and more than 100 SVs have been deployed for duties.

Way Ahead

In 2017, as part of the E&B Council's efforts to engender broad-based support for NS, the Council will continue to reach out to businesses, especially new companies or foreign firms. The F&C Council will continue to expand the "We Support YOU in NS" initiative, and have more exciting collaborations with Families for Life as well as other organisations to reach out to more families and conduct inter-generation engagement. The EI Council will continue to encourage more schools to implement fitness programmes for pre-enlistees and also tap onto existing platforms to reach out to more youths.