Push grows for more firms to hire ex-offenders; Yellow Ribbon deepens support

SINGAPORE – Employment is crucial in giving ex-offenders stability and a pathway to rebuild their lives, working alongside encouragement from families, volunteers, and the community to help them make a fresh start, said Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong.

“Research has been very clear about this. It has shown that sustained employment plays an important part, a critical part in successful reintegration,” said Tong at the Yellow Ribbon Community Project (YRCP) awards and appreciation luncheon on Nov 14 at the Singapore Expo.

Urging more employers to embrace inclusive hiring, he added: “When employers open their doors...they make second chance a reality, a possibility - something that they can see at the end of the tunnel that is real for ex-offenders and their families.”

As of December 2025, about 6,500 employers were registered with Yellow Ribbon Singapore.

To support these businesses, the Government offers the Uplifting Employment Credit, or UEC, to provide eligible employers with wage support of up to 20 per cent for the first nine months of employment, capped at $600 each month.

In 2025, about 1,000 employers tapped on the UEC for to hire about 2,600 ex-offenders. He said the scheme will be extended until 2028.

At the event attended by guests and volunteers from 20 grassroots divisions, 236 volunteers received long-service awards for the time spent and relationships they had built with families impacted by incarceration.

Since its launch in 2010, YRCP has mobilised 1,100 volunteers across 93 divisions to support more than 29,000 families.

To strengthen family support further, the event highlighted expanded community partnerships and the new YRCP Portal. Launched in October 2026, the digital platform helps volunteers maintain case notes and coordinate assistance.

Deputy Superintendent of Prisons Jay Choo, 38, who leads the YRCP under the Community Partnership and Family Policy Branch, said: “We are looking at how to tap on the national platform... for employment opportunities.”

He added: “We are increasingly seeing families who have young children, for example, or elderly dependents that need caregiving arrangements.”

Arrangements are being made with community partners dealing in early childhood development, as well as those with expertise in nursing needs.

Last year, Sarah (not her real name) saw her world crashing down when her brother was imprisoned. She was suddenly left to look after her ailing mother and manage her household.

Sarah, 28, said: “I was struggling here and there, and I went into depression at that point of time.”

However, support came from her friends and YRCP volunteers, who gave her vouchers for groceries every month.

Said Sarah, a property officer: “I’m very thankful to YRCP because they gave us moral support.”

On the frontline, being a volunteer is not something seen as attractive to most people, said Mohamad Fariezan Abas, a YRCP champion from the Zhenghua division.

Fariezan was presented with a long service award for his five-year stint which saw him befriend about 60 families of offenders.

Said Fariezan, 42: “I think the stigma still exists, but through Yellow Ribbon events like today, we amplify the work we do to help families impacted by incarceration.

“People do make mistakes, but the families need not be punished for the mistakes.”