HOME Award Ceremony 2015 – Speech by Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry

Award recipients, parents, guests,

Home Team colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. It is my pleasure to join you this morning for this year's HOME Award Presentation Ceremony.

2     Since the introduction of the HOME Award (Poly) in 2009 and HOME Award (ITE) in 2012, we have given out a total of 298 awards to Poly and ITE students.  Of the 298 awardees, 159 have since been appointed into service.

HOME Award Recipients

3     This morning, I am happy to be presenting awards to a further 60 polytechnic students and 12 ITE students.  I congratulate all 72 award recipients on your academic, co-curricular and leadership achievements, and warmly welcome you to the Home Team.

4     I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank your family members for their unwavering support; and your principals and teachers for their role in nurturing and bringing you to where you are today.

Our Mission

5     The Home Team is what it is today because of our dedicated officers, who work together as a cohesive team to ensure the safety and security of Singapore and Singaporeans.  We face many security challenges, not just in Singapore, but also in the international arena.  Home Team officers need to be capable, nimble, quick-thinking and resourceful in their day-to-day work. They also need to be prepared and ready to deal with any crisis or contingencies that emerge.

6     Just recently, the Home Team sent its largest deployment of officers for overseas disaster relief operations to Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.  126 officers from the Police, including the Gurkha contingent, and the SCDF carried out search and rescue operations, rendered medical assistance and provided humanitarian aid.  Despite the difficult terrain and weather conditions, our SPF and SCDF officers worked tirelessly round the clock, to help the people of Nepal in their hour of need.  We are proud of our officers for their professionalism and commitment.

Career Growth and Personnel Development

7     The work in the Home Team is never the same.  Each day, there are new challenges and new situations to deal with.  It is therefore critical that we continue to attract talented young people like you to join the Home Team; young people who care for our people and our country; have the desire to serve; and are willing to work hard to protect Singapore.

8     This award is just the first step.  When you graduate and join the Home Team, there will be many opportunities for professional development and career advancement.  We will equip and train Home Team officers with the requisite skills and knowledge to handle the challenges of the job with competence and confidence.

9     I would like to cite 2 examples from our HOME Award recipients.  Mr Sandeep Amrick was from the 2012 batch of HOME Award (ITE) recipients.  After graduating from ITE, he secured a place to study supply chain management at Republic Polytechnic.  In recognition of his academic excellence, we will further sponsor him in his diploma studies with the HOME Award (Poly).  Sandeep will join the Singapore Prison Service after graduating from his polytechnic studies.

10     The second officer I want to highlight is Staff Sergeant Winson Liew from SPF.  He was one of our first HOME Award recipients in 2009.  He graduated with a Diploma in Network System and Security from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.  Winson started his career with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) as a Neighborhood Police Centre Officer (NPCO) with Bukit Batok NPC.  As an NPCO, Winson's duties involved ground patrols, attending to cases and interacting with residents and members of the public.  He was later posted to be an Investigation Officer at Jurong Police Division.  Winson has performed well in his work and demonstrated strong leadership qualities.  MHA and SPF will be awarding him a Home Team Sponsorship to pursue the full-time Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Security at the Singapore Institute of Technology.  This will be on full salary.

11     It is my hope to see more officers benefiting from the career and developmental opportunities that the Home Team has to offer.  The Home Team also benefits as our officers will acquire valuable skills and be able to take on larger roles and shoulder greater responsibilities at work.

Conclusion

12     The future holds exciting opportunities for our award recipients.  As a Home Team officer, you will learn new skills, be challenged by difficult situations, and work side by side with other Home Team officers to fulfill our mission of keeping Singapore safe and secure.

13     Let me once again congratulate all our award recipients and your families.  I wish you the very best in your studies and careers with the Home Team.

14     Thank you.