All national servicemen across all ranks will see their monthly allowance increase by $70 to $120 this month, said Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.
This increase includes a minimum $50 vocation allowance that is given to all national servicemen in recognition of the different vocational demands, and applies to servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The vocation allowance replaces the combat allowance, which was given to servicemen in combat vocations in the SAF, such as armour, guards and infantry.
National service allowances were last increased in December 2015 by $80, across all ranks. The latest increase means a recruit in the SAF or SCDF, who used to receive $560 a month, will now get $630.
This was among the moves to benefit national servicemen announced in Parliament yesterday during the debate on the Ministry of Defence's (Mindef) budget.
Other efforts include expanding a free gym membership scheme for pre-enlistees and increasing the number of courses that servicemen can take to prepare for life after NS.
The exercise programme Prep4NS, launched last November to give pre-enlistees free access to Safra gyms for a year, has about 6,000 applicants, Mr Heng said.
Mindef and the SAF are working with Sport Singapore to extend the trial to 24 ActiveSG gyms. More details will be provided later.
From next month, full-time national servicemen (NSFs) will also have more courses to choose from under the electronic pre-release employment programme, including credit-bearing courses from the National University of Singapore.
They will be able to choose from more than 4,000 courses, up from about 3,000 now.
To ease the transition to NS for pre-enlistees who are new citizens or permanent residents, coordinators in foreign-system schools and privately funded institutions will be appointed to assist them with questions on NS, Mr Heng said.
On adopting digital technologies, he said e-services will be improved so that pre-enlistees can complete most of their transactions online in one go, such as bond and exit permit applications. When the initiative is ready, they could be informed of their application outcomes up to 40 per cent more quickly.
In his speech, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen also announced the formation of a high-level committee to look at in-camp training and deployment of manpower. This will be chaired by Mindef's deputy secretary for administration and the Chief of Army.
The committee would also look into better matching the skills and aptitude of NSmen to their vocations, as well as ensure training is more focused on their operational roles, among other things.
Specific changes will be announced in due course, said Dr Ng.
Mindef and the Ministry of Home Affairs will also launch the Safra and HomeTeamNS family schemes by the second half of this year, to allow NSmen, their spouses and children to enjoy access to Safra and HomeTeamNS facilities and benefits at a single subsidised fee.
