2024 MHA Scholarship and Sponsorship Ceremony – Speech by Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development

Award recipients,

Family members and guests,

Home Team colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Home Team.

2. Today, we are presenting scholarship and sponsorship awards to 111 Home Team officers. 74 officers will be pursuing their undergraduate studies, while another 37 officers will be going on to pursue their postgraduate studies.

3. Another 9 Home Team officers on full-time degree studies will also be receiving the book prizes for their outstanding academic achievements in the Singapore University of Social Sciences Public Safety and Security programme.

4. I wish to congratulate all of you. I thank you for your hard work, your commitment, your outstanding service in keeping Singapore safe and secure. These awards recognise your potential to contribute even more to the Home Team.

We Continually Invest in Our Officers’ Development

5. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s workforce is an invaluable asset that determines the success of the Home Team. That is why we place great emphasis on and devote an inordinate amount of resources towards our officers’ development.

6. I will talk about some of our initiatives in the following three areas: professional and personal development; academic upgrading opportunities; and meaningful career development opportunities.

Professional and Personal Growth and Development

7. First, we invest heavily in officers’ professional and personal growth and development. It is important that our officers gain and develop the requisite skills and competencies needed to carry out their roles well. To support officers, we are focused on designing purposeful and structured training programmes and initiatives.

8. For example, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) takes a technology and evidence-based approach towards organisational learning. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, SCDF developed a new progressive learning strategy that allows their officers to learn anytime, anywhere. SCDF worked with industry experts to co-develop 14 hours of e-learning topics in various specialist domains, and plan to develop another 65 hours of e-learning topics. SCDF also leveraged mobile platforms to proliferate their micro-learning content, and encourage digital learning.

9. The Home Team Academy has also developed a comprehensive framework for leadership development, and curated four stages of leadership programmes designed for officers at different career milestones. These customised courses progressively enhance and develop officers’ leadership abilities at critical career milestones, from as early as four years in service, and prepare officers to take on even greater responsibilities in the Home Team.

10. We also have the Learning and Development Scheme, or LDS, to support officers in their professional development outside working hours. Officers could claim up to $700 per year. I am happy to share that we are enhancing the LDS this year to allow officers full flexibility to use the $700 in any way that supports their professional development, personal growth and well-being.

Scholarship and Sponsorship Opportunities

11. Second, we support our officers in their academic upgrading.

12. In 2017, MHA enhanced our Scholarship and Sponsorship Framework, and introduced the MHA Study Awards. Since then, more than 1,300 officers have benefited from the sponsorships for their further studies.

(a) One such officer here today is Goh Ying Xuan from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Ying Xuan was first awarded the Home Team ITE Sponsorship Award in 2016. MHA and ICA continued to sponsor her subsequent studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic under the Home Team Diploma (Study) Sponsorship Award. Ying Xuan has gone on to serve at ICA in various roles, including a secondment to MOH to support COVID-19 operations. Ying Xuan is now awarded with the MHA Degree Scholarship, and she will be going on to pursue her degree in Infrastructure and Project Management in National University of Singapore.

(b) Another officer I would like to highlight is Prem Kumar S/O Panneerchalvam, whose career thus far in MHA illustrates the varied opportunities that our officers can have. Prem has completed several postings across the Home Team in various domains, ranging from technology and training in the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), to protective security in the Singapore Police Force (SPF), and now human resource in the Ministry Headquarters. Prem is now awarded with the MHA Postgraduate Sponsorship, and he is pursuing his Master of Media and Communication in the Nanyang Technological University.

13. For every officer here today, your scholarship or sponsorship award presents an opportunity for you to not only learn new knowledge and skills that you can bring back to the Home Team, it is also a chance for personal development, as you meet and network with other professionals and academics.

14. MHA regularly reviews our sponsorship opportunities to support the upskilling aspirations of our officers. We will be launching a new award this year, called the Emerging Skills Scholarship. This is intended for officers to deepen expertise in identified emerging areas like Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

Career Development Opportunities

15. Third, we offer our officers meaningful career development opportunities. Officers can take up positions in various departments and units within their Home Team Department or across the Home Team throughout their career to widen their exposure and enrich their experience.

16. MHA provides different career pathways for officers to advance their careers. Officers can choose to progress on a general leadership track or take on a specialist track.

17. Since 2016, MHA introduced Expert Tracks for our uniformed officers to build deep capabilities in specialised domains critical to the Home Team Departments’ operational response. For example, in SPF, we have the Investigations, Intelligence and Special Operations expert tracks. In SCDF, we have the Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Response and Urban Search and Rescue expert tracks, and we are looking at introducing a Paramedicine expert track. And in SPS, we have the Special Operations and Intelligence expert tracks.

18. For the civilian officers, they can choose to deepen their specialisation in several functions across the 11 Home Team Departments. For example, officers in the Human Resource, Finance and Internal Audit, and Correctional Rehabilitation functions can specialise and develop their career along these tracks. Officers can also pursue a generalist track and take on roles across 12 different domain areas, such as international relations, communications, operations, and strategic planning. Whichever career pathway officers wish to take on, we have a comprehensive suite of supporting resources and mechanisms to assist them.  There are primer courses for each domain area, a posting framework that facilitate officers’ rotation, and career ambassadors to provide career guidance and advice to officers.

19. MHA also facilitates secondment and attachment opportunities to other government agencies or private sectors for Home Team officers. In addition, there are also Short-Term Immersion Programme (STIP) and Gig Work opportunities for officers to be involved in projects of interest at the Whole-of-Government level.

MHA’s Officers Are Instrumental to Our Success

20. Investing in our officers’ personal and professional development has allowed us to build a dedicated, engaged and skilled workforce.

21. In the latest Public Service Employee Engagement Survey in 2023, MHA’s overall scores remain high. Particularly, in the areas of “engagement to organisation” and “nature of work”, we have maintained high scores of over 80% since 2018.

22. Our officers’ dedication and commitment are fundamental to MHA’s success. In the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2023, Singapore was ranked one of the top three countries in “Order and Security”, the seventh time in a row. We have also continued to maintain a high level of public trust in the Home Team.

23. And as we move ahead in challenging times, I am confident that MHA will continue to do well in our mission to keep Singapore safe and secure as we have a dedicated and professional workforce that resonates strongly with MHA’s purpose.

Conclusion

24. With that, congratulations to all our recipients and your families. I wish all of you a fruitful and rewarding time during your studies, and I look forward to your return.