Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) how many SAF officers are re-employed from 2017 to 2019; (b) how successful has the Ministry been in helping retired SAF officers to prepare for and find second careers after their retirement; and (c) what are the measures taken to ensure that officers have transferable skills upon retirement.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen:

The structure for a career within the SAF takes into account the need to maintain a credible defence force. Apart from leadership and management skills, SAF personnel must also be able to undertake physically demanding tasks, when called upon. Based on these requirements, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officers and warrant officers retire around 50 years old while military experts can work till 60 years of age. To compensate SAF personnel for their shorter careers, remuneration packages are higher and pegged to equivalent civilian jobs with older retirement ages. Retired personnel can be re-employed in limited vocations that do not require the physical rigour, but this forms a small proportion of vocations within the SAF.

Instead, SAF assists its retired personnel to continue with second careers. They receive support from certified career advisors in our own Career Transition Resource Centre, with services such as career coaching, networking events and job referrals. They are also provided funds and time-off under the Lifelong Employability & Advancement Programme (LEAP) to attend courses and seminars, go for job interviews, and embark on internships that can serve as a springboard into their sector of interest. These programmes have successfully assisted our personnel in their transitions; 80% secure jobs within six months of retiring from the SAF.

Employer surveys show that the skills and certifications obtained by SAF personnel during their careers are well-recognised by private and public sector employers. Our personnel undergo structured training to prepare them for leadership and management roles. They are also equipped with valuable competencies in areas such as human resource, finance, operations research and training pedagogy. A number of our programmes are developed under the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system, which ensures that the training SAF personnel receive are aligned to industry standards and therefore transferable. The SAF also collaborates with local educational institutions on work-study programmes that enable our servicemen to translate their work experience into professional accreditation.