New scholarship, post-retirement options a timely boost for Singapore athletes

SINGAPORE – After completing her O-level exams as a private candidate, national badminton player Yeo Jia Min stopped school at 17 so she could pursue sport full time and benefit from a full Sport Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) stipend.

At the time, juggling both sport and studies qualified her for only half of the allowance.

While the decision paid off as she became a junior world No. 1 at 18, went on to win titles on the Badminton World Tour and compete in two Olympics, further education “has always been at the back of my head”.

This is why Yeo is buoyed by the recent announcement by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong at a post-National Day Rally engagement session.

On Aug 21, Mr Tong

revealed details of the spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship Programme,

which is part of a slew of initiatives to make sport a viable and attractive career path for Singaporeans.

National athletes will be able to apply for the programme from Sept 1 with two options available – the dual-career path for athletes pursuing their studies while training and competing, and the new-career track for those who choose to study after retiring from competitive sport.

All six autonomous universities in Singapore will also support aptitude-based admissions and schedule flexibility to better accommodate training and competitions, while spexScholars will enjoy monthly top-ups to their CPF accounts from April 2025.

Yeo, 25, who is interested in studying business and economics, said: “It’s reassuring to know that my education is being looked after, and there are job opportunities available to me after I retire in maybe four years, and I won’t be in too much of a shock going into the workforce.

“My life has revolved around badminton. But I’ve always thought about the opportunity to, at my own pace, go for online courses that would upskill me so it won’t be too big a change for me once I’m done with competing.”

Similarly, national sprinter Xander Ho knows the importance of a strong start.

As an intern analyst at venture capital firm Quest Ventures, he works flexible hours and has an unlimited leave structure to achieve his sporting goals.

For example, the final-year Nanyang Technological University business, finance and banking undergrad has been allowed time off to go for training camps and competitions in Japan.

The 24-year-old said: “It’s important for me to pursue both concurrently as I’m graduating soon and I wish to find a direction for my working career and not be at a disadvantage after I graduate.

“I want to give it my all while I’m at my peak age for sports and I don’t want to have regrets not pursuing it.”

Quest Ventures is one of 60 partners of Sport Singapore’s Sports Excellence Business (spexBusiness) scheme, which offers career development support such as employment opportunities and workplace flexibilities to national athletes.

Mr Tong said in the engagement session that more partners will be enlisted through spexBusiness “to provide our athletes and para-athletes more opportunities during and after competitive sport”.

Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan shared that Ho’s work arrangement is “a pretty normal set-up for technology companies like us and it is relatively easy to adopt”.

Ho hopes that more companies can join the scheme and do more to provide financial support for athletes, as well as offer flexible career pathways. In turn, the Government can also look at incentivising companies to do so through grants, subsidies and tax deductions.

Former national silat exponent Shakir Juanda, who now works as a sports performance manager at the Singapore Sport Institute, is one athlete who has made a smooth transition to the working world after retiring in 2018.

The 36-year-old said: “I wanted to continue contributing to an area that I deeply care about, and the sports industry provided the perfect avenue for me to do so... companies play a vital role in the larger support system for athletes who are looking to pursue a career in the corporate world. 

“Arrangements such as flexible hours, remote work and extended leave for competition or training help with the integration.”

James Walton, sports business group leader at Deloitte Asia Pacific, noted that companies will also benefit from such a partnership.

Shortly after spexBusiness was launched in November 2013, the Deloitte Ignite programme was created to offer current and retired athletes flexible internship and employment opportunities, including paid leave for training and competition requirements.

Paralympic champion Yip Pin Xiu and sprinter Shanti Pereira are among more than 160 athletes who have passed through its doors.

Walton said: “We get a more diverse pool of people, and we find that Team Singapore athletes, by their nature, are creative and hard-working. They prioritise and juggle their commitments very well.

“They also have a very positive effect on the morale in the firm. People are excited to work alongside these athletes.

“We want to do this to support these highly deserving individuals who make such sacrifices and commitments to represent our nation – to give them stability, security and confidence that they can do these things and still be able to aspire to things like a steady income.”