TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR SCHOLARS

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Mr Sin Boon Ann asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider sending its scholars to leading corporations in the West for training and exposure and subsequently placing them in Government-linked companies as part of their career development.

The Deputy Prime Minister (BG Lee Hsien Loong): Mr Speaker, Sir, PSC scholarships are for the purpose of bringing talent into the public service. Nevertheless, the Civil Service has been seconding to leading private sector companies, officers who are able to contribute effectively to the companies as well as benefit from the exposure obtained. The list of companies that the Government has sent scholars to include Shell International in London, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Power, Straits Steamship Land, Temasek Holdings, Media Corporation (formerly SIM) and DBS Bank. The Civil Service will continue to provide such training and development opportunities, including postings and attachments, for civil servants to learn from and be in touch with the private sector, as well as the people sector.

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): Sir, would the Government consider creating a separate career path for these scholars who have signed up with the Civil Service as part of career development rather than to spend part of their service in the public service and then move on to the private sector subsequently?

BG Lee Hsien Loong: I think this may be difficult because when somebody joins the public service, the expectation is that he will spend most of his career in the public sector. He does not have to be in the same department, but can be in many Ministries, even in statutory boards. And if we interpret it broadly, he can even be in some GLCs. But if a person wants to spend most of his career in the private sector, then he joins a bank, a multinational corporation, or a law firm. I think it is very hard to have an arrangement where you are half in and half out. You will have to have a home where you are based and, in the case of scholars, the home is the public sector.

Dr Tan Boon Wan (Ang Mo Kio): I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister that when the scholars are being exposed to the private sector, is there a concern that they might be attracted to private sector and never come back to the Civil Service, and what is the experience of the Government so far with this attachment.

BG Lee Hsien Loong: It is a concern. There had been previous occasions where we had seconded people and, at the end of the secondment, they said, "I am not coming back." And the person to whom he was seconded said, "I am not letting him go." This had happened in the past. Normally, there is an understanding that when we second somebody out or somebody is seconded to us there is a "no poaching" rule. You cannot at the end of the period say, "I am keeping this person." So I do not think we have any recent problems. But we have to continue to monitor this. Basically, we have to make sure that the public sector is competitive, the terms are good, the prospects and challenges are there and the people are willing to stay and come back to you. Otherwise, even if you do not second them, they will resign and be off.