PROGRAMMES FOR RETIRING POLICE OFFICERS

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PROGRAMMES FOR RETIRING POLICE OFFICERS

18.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the re-training programmes available to police officers who are due for retirement, to help them re-integrate into the workforce.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: The Singapore Police Force has a structured career transition framework to assist retiring officers to prepare for retirement. This programme is open to officers who are five years from retirement. Under the programme, officers are put through different phases of preparation, ranging from mental and psychological readiness to training in generic areas such as health and financial management, as well as specific skills such as job interview techniques.

Whilst this pre-retirement preparation is useful, it is really the skills acquired in the entire course of their service that will stand the officers in good stead for any career they wish to take on after retirement. That is why MHA adopts a lifelong learning approach to ensure that all its officers, including those in the Police Force, continually upgrade their

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skills and remain relevant to the workforce. This continuous learning framework starts from the day officers first join the Ministry. In this vein, apart from police skills, Police officers learn general skills such as computing skills, dealing with finance, writing, supervisory skills, customer service, organisational effectiveness and leadership. This approach to life-long learning provides a strong foundation for the pre-retirement preparation activities.

For these reasons, the vast majority of Police officers do not have any difficulties finding employment after retirement should they wish to do so. Many of them work in security-related fields where their skills and experience they have learnt as police officers are put to good use. Some take on administrative jobs and some start their own businesses.