Serious After 50 years, PAP finally accredit skills acquired in NS, so on the ball ah?

This has always been one of my pet peeves when I was in the SAF. why is it that a NSmen with a valid military drivers license can drive any vehicles (jeep, land rover, unimog, 3 tonner, etc) on the streets of singapore but his license is not recognized or on par with a civilian license. I hope this accreditation will take care of some of this issues.

SINGAPORE: Skills acquired during National Service (NS) will receive formal accreditation for both full-time and operationally ready NSmen to tap on in their future careers, Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung announced in Parliament on Friday (Mar 3).

“From this year, SkillsFuture Singapore will accredit enlistees with skills, such as teamwork, that are honed during Basic Military Training (BMT),” he said. “In fact, the teamwork we learn in NS is far better than many commercial workshops.”

“Throughout their full-time NS, they could also be accredited with other competencies such as leadership, technical or specialist skills.”

These skills will be recognised by the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) - a national credentialing system for employees - and reflected in an enhanced Certificate of Service given to full-time NSmen (NSFs) on their Operationally Ready Date (ORD).

“By 2018, the certificate will be made more comprehensive to include additional achievements such as awards, commendations and milestones,” said Mr Ong.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), there are currently 23 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) courses accredited. More than 96 per cent of NSFs who enlist from January 2017 onwards will receive WSQ accreditation annually, with commanders receiving additional recognition for their leadership roles.

The figure excludes BMT syllabuses for commandos and naval divers - which are in the process of being accredited - along with NSFs who do not complete BMT.

“While accrediting skills learnt in NS is a useful enhancement of the NS experience, this is neither the main objective nor the key takeaway of NS,” Mr Ong stated.

“NS fulfils the obligation and accords the honour of contributing to the defence of our country. The lasting benefits are the development of character and resilience, and the camaraderie and friendships forged with fellow NSmen.”

“Ultimately, the fact that someone has completed NS well demonstrates his commitment and dedication,” he concluded. “Especially in a challenging unit that stretches his abilities, this should speak for itself, and be valued and recognised by society, including employers.”

The only skills I acquired during NS was how to take cover when there was work to do and how to pass the buck when things went wrong.

No commitment or dedication whatsoever required. All it took was a basic understanding of how the SAF worked... something which I mastered in a matter of weeks during my junior term in OCS.

After that it was plain sailing till my ROD.

NSmen as slaves have no claim to anything incl cyber defence which the state pays at least 6k to f trashes fr ModiLand,,,,,,,, at most slaves with such digital skills gets 60 allowance per month........ during my time doing part time PNS I get only 60 cents an hour!!! still got to pay bus fare even in uniform
Things hv changed but NSmen still paid less than maid albeit both are fucked differently - maids in Lucky Plaza by banglas n NSmen by Ng n his cronies

i learn how and when to snooze on my guard duty. it becums valuable when i finally land my jaga job.

I don't recall learning any useful skills in NS,although I do remember spending the time during NS picking up some useful skills like investing and playing poker things which I carried for many years after I ORD because real skills are extremely difficult to learn and takes a lifetime to master,while joke skills can be picked up after attending a six week course and getting a certificate.if I can get a job after attending a job skills future course or having a NS certificate saying I got xxx skills that job must be a friggin joke.high caste Indians don't need NS certificate to prove they are useful and deserve to stay in tan Jong rhu condo enclave.

i learn to play "poke-her" during r&r after exercise starlight.