National Day Rally: Singapore to employ “major resets” to achieve the "refreshed Singapore Dream"

Singapore will set out new policies to enhance employment, education, housing, and overall well-being of its citizens.

The government will provide an additional 10 weeks of mandatory shared parental leave for parents who wish to spend more time with their children, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his first National Day Rally on 18 August.

This initiative will roll out in two phases, starting with six weeks for babies born from 1 April 2025, to be increased to the full 10 weeks a year later.

In addition, Singapore will make the expansion of paternity leave from two to four weeks mandatory.

In terms of employment, the new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme will provide up to $6,000 in financial support over six months for involuntarily unemployed individuals.

However, the government also encourages individuals to go for training, career coaching, as well as job matching services for them to find better job opportunities.

To support this, the government will enhance the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme which will provide all Singaporeans aged 40 and above an additional training allowance of up to $3,000/month should employees choose to take time off work to study full-time. This is on top of the $4,000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up given in May.

To make housing more affordable and accessible for all, the government will extend the Build-to-Order (BTO) priority access scheme to singles starting mid-2025. Currently, the scheme gives better ballot chances to married couples applying for flats near their parents.

Lastly, to improve education, the government will provide more resources and funding to support both students with disadvantaged backgrounds and those with higher abilities.

Students are also encouraged to take up a diploma programme to maximise their full potential. This will be supported by the ITE Progression Award which will provide students with a $5,000 top-up in their Post-Secondary Education Account and a further $10,000 top-up in their CPF account once the student graduates.

“Realising our new ambitions will require a major reset – a major reset in policies, to be sure; but also a reset in our attitudes,” PM Wong said.