NOW A COMMANDING OFFICER: Lt-Col Li Lit Siew has benefited from two scholarships during his SAF career. -- ST FILE PHOTO

In fact, more than 75 per cent of officers found jobs within three months of retiring from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Second Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament yesterday.

And 85 per cent found employment after six months of leaving, suggesting that ex-SAF officers still enjoy plum prospects after retirement.

These figures are from a survey completed late last year.

Dr Ng also noted that even though career lengths had been extended by up to three years, officers still leave the armed forces young enough to start on their new careers, aided by money amassed under their remuneration scheme.

With extensions, colonels now retire at the age of 47, while majors and lieutenant-colonels retire at the age of 45.

Dr Ng was responding to MPs Ong Chit Chung (Jurong GRC), Arthur Fong (West Coast GRC) and Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah GRC), who posed questions on the retention of able career officers in the armed forces.

Dr Ng said officers' earnings from a full career with the SAF up to the age of 45 compared well with the typical earnings from a full career in the private sector.

But remuneration was only one way the SAF ensured talent stays in the midst of a tightening labour market. 'Remuneration is important, but employees also want to be developed to their fullest potential and to give their best to the organisation,' said Dr Ng.

Citing some of the ways the SAF achieves this, Dr Ng said non-graduate officers can now secure sponsorships for part-time degree studies.

He cited the example of Lieutenant-Colonel Li Lit Siew - the commanding officer of a navy squadron - as an officer who has benefited from such schemes.

Two years into his service, LTC Li received an undergraduate sponsorship to study in the Nanyang Technological University. He was also sponsored for his post-graduate studies later in his career, at the United States Naval Postgraduate School in 1999.

So far, LTC Li has been in service for more than 20 years.

'Like LTC Li, many officers have received similar opportunities to realise their academic aspirations and have a fulfilling career in the SAF,' Dr Ng said.

Mindef has also adjusted wage structures to be more responsive to market conditions and also pays additional mid-term retention bonuses to encourage officers to stay on.

'Officers tend to review their career options when they approach their early 30s,' he said, so incentive amounts for those who stayed till the end of the first 10 years have been increased.

Officers are not the only ones to benefit from Mindef's efforts to groom and keep talent.

Sponsorships for degrees have also been introduced for non-commissioned officers, known as warrant officers and specialists, to attract and retain 'good diploma holders'.

Earlier in the session, Dr Ong noted: 'The real core of the SAF is in its officers and men. Without the commitment of the officers and men, the SAF is nothing.'