Career Guide: 4 Specialised Career Schemes That Are Part Of The Civil Service

The Singapore Public Service is one of Singapore’s largest employers at over 145,000 public officers. Working for the government is also often regarded as having an “iron rice bowl” or guaranteed job security.

While both are seen as government jobs, there is a difference between public service and civil service. The Civil Service comprises the 16 ministries while the Public Service includes civil servants as well as officers in the statutory boards. For example, a HDB officer is a public servant while an officer from the Ministry of National Development is a civil servant.

Civil service adheres to the human resource (HR) policies set by the Public Service Division under the Prime Minister’s Office. This means that in general, the same HR policies apply across the 16 ministries. Statutory boards (like HDB, CPF Board, IRAS) have their own recruitment and human resource management policies while taking cues from civil service. The Singapore Armed Forces and nurses and doctors who work at public hospitals are also not considered part of the civil service.

However, that is not to say that all civil service jobs are the same or compensated equally. If your goal is to join the government as a civil servant, here are 4 specialised career schemes that are part of the civil service.

Read Also: Civil Service Bonus: How Much Has The Government Paid In Bonuses Over The Past Decade?

Ministry Of Communications And Information (MCI)’s Information Officer Scheme

If you studied communications or are interested in corporate communications, MCI’s Information Officer Scheme may be of interest to you.

While most government jobs are usually tied to the same ministry, a career with MCI’s Information Service is going to be very dynamic. Instead of staying with a single ministry, Information Officers can be seconded to other ministries and statutory.

According to MCI, you would begin your career in MCI and receive formal professional and on-the-job training with rotations to other divisions or serve in other government agencies’ corporate communications department. Experienced officers may also assume directorial positions in other government agencies’ corporate communications department or serve as Press Secretaries to Ministers.

MCI also offers the Information Service Scholarship is for those interested in a career in government communications while the Information Service (Translation) Scholarship has an additional focus on translation. Mid-term scholarships are also available for those who have already started their undergraduate studies.

Starting Salary: Unfortunately, MCI does not provide starting salary information on their website.

Read Also: Why Singapore’s Largest Employer (The Public Service) Does Not Encourage Moonlighting?

Ministry Of Trade And Industry (MTI)’s Economist Service

While many roles in civil services tend to be generalist, MTI’s Economist Service is a professional scheme for economists to help advance economic thought in Singapore’s public policies.

Economists with the Economist Service are expected to provide economic analysis and advice on policies that impact Singapore’s economic competitiveness. Some past analysis completed by the Economic Service include the cost-benefit analysis of the Integrated Resorts, and evaluations of programmes like the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS). They also occasionally publish non-confidential research in MTI’s Economic Survey of Singapore.

MTI also offers a Economist Service Scholarship for undergraduate studies in Economics, as well as mid-term scholarship option for those who are already pursuing undergraduate studies in Economics. The Economic Service (ES) also offers internships to students under the ES Research Assistant Programme which allow interns to have a better sense of the work in the ES.

In terms of progression, Economists in the ES will begin their careers in the Economics Division (ECD) of MTI. After 2 years with ECD, they may be seconded to other divisions within MTI or to other government agencies.

Starting Salary: Unfortunately, MTI does not provide starting salary information on their website. The MTI website states that the remuneration packages are benchmarked against the salaries of economists in the private sector.

MOE’s Teaching Service

MOE teachers are part of the civil service and are directly employed by the Ministry of Education. However, MOE’s Teaching Service is managed separately from the rest of civil service with its own remuneration policies.

While teachers receive the same civil service bonus, they also receive teaching-specific remuneration. One example of this is the CONNECT Plan or Education Service Incentive Payment. The CONNECT plan is an incentive plan to encourage teachers to stay in the teaching service.

Joining the teaching service is also different from joining the rest of civil service as teachers are paid to be trained for the profession. All NIE training is fully funded by MOE and you will receive a salary during your untrained teaching stint and during your NIE teaching. Those who receive teaching scholarships and sponsorships would receive allowances even earlier during the period they are obtaining their qualifications. In exchange for this investment into education and training, MOE imposes a bond on all teachers.

Starting Salary: $2,760 to $3,500 for degree holders

Read Also: Salary Guide To How Much You Can Earn As An MOE Teacher

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s Home Team Uniformed Service

While the Singapore Armed Forces are not considered part of the civil service, the uniformed service under MHA are considered part of civil service.

MHA’s Home Team Uniformed Service comprises the Singapore Police Force (SPF), The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore Prison Service, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

Similar to the teaching service, the uniformed service has different remuneration from the rest of civil service. While they also receive the same civil service bonus, the Home Team has the INVEST Scheme, a scheme for MHA’s uniformed officers. This scheme is established to help officers transit into their second career as they have an earlier retirement age of 55 as compared to the rest of the Civil Service at 62. Uniformed officers also receive retention rewards for staying in the uniformed service.

The Uniformed Service also allows for Sign-On Bonus upon appointment for certain direct-entry hires as well as the ability to serve out National Service concurrently while working.

Starting Salary: $3,940 to $5,090 for direct-entry lieutenants for SPF, $3,890 to $4,899 for direct-entry lieutenants for SCDF.

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