Question:
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the last five years, what is the proportion of ex-offenders who secured employment; (b) what are the key challenges faced in finding suitable employment for ex-offenders; and (c) what are the Ministry’s plans and support measures to enhance employment opportunities for them.
Answer:
Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:
1. In the last five years, based on CPF data, an average of 68% of ex-offenders secured employment within six months of release. This figure does not include ex-offenders who took on "gig" jobs such as food delivery, freelance work or other jobs that do not make CPF contributions.
2. Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) engages employers to encourage them to give ex-offenders a second chance, as well as promote inclusive workplace practices. Employers are also supported by the Uplifting Employment Credit, which provides wage offsets of up to $600 for each ex-offender that they hire, for the first nine months of employment. These initiatives have seen some success as more employers have approached YRSG to explore hiring of ex-offenders.
3. To improve the employability of ex-offenders, YRSG works closely with the Singapore Prison Service to provide inmates with training and skills upgrading during their incarceration and supervision period in the community. These include the TAP & Grow initiative where YRSG works with industry partners to train inmates and help them secure employment in the Precision Engineering, Media, Logistics, and Food Services sectors.
4. To help ex-offenders stay on the job, YRSG also provides career retention support, where career coaches support ex-offenders at work for up to 12 months after release.
