SINGAPORE – Employment is crucial in giving former offenders stability and a pathway to rebuild their lives, working alongside encouragement from families, volunteers and the community to help them make a fresh start, said Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong.
“Research has been very clear about this. It has shown that sustained employment plays an important part, a critical part in successful reintegration,” said Tong at the Yellow Ribbon Community Project (YRCP) awards and appreciation luncheon on Nov 14 at the Singapore Expo.
Urging more employers to embrace inclusive hiring, he added: “When employers open their doors… they make second chance a reality, a possibility – something that they can see at the end of the tunnel that is real for ex-offenders and their families.”
As at December 2025, about 6,500 employers were registered with Yellow Ribbon Singapore.
To support these businesses, the Government offers the Uplifting Employment Credit (UEC) to provide eligible employers with wage support of up to 20% for the first nine months of employment, capped at $600 each month. In 2025, about 1,000 employers tapped the UEC to hire some 2,600 former offenders. Tong said the scheme will be extended to 2028.
At the event attended by guests and volunteers from 20 grassroots divisions, 236 volunteers received long-service awards for the time spent and relationships they had built with families impacted by incarceration.
Since its launch in 2010, YRCP has mobilised 1,100 volunteers across 93 divisions to support more than 29,000 families.
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