Profile of Administrative Officers in the Public Service

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on profile of Administrative Officers in the Public Service

Parliamentary Sitting: 21 Apr 2023

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister of the officers in the Administrative Service as at end-2022 (a) what percentage of them are (i) state scholarship recipients versus non-scholars (ii) mid-career entrants from the public sector and (iii) mid-career entrants from outside the public sector; and (b) how has this breakdown changed from ten years ago.

Written Reply by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service:

From 2003, the Public Service has ceased to appoint fresh graduates (including scholarship recipients) directly into the Administrative Service (AS). Public officers generally have to serve at least a few years in various parts of the Public Service before they are assessed for suitability for appointment to the AS. At end-2022, around nine in ten AOs have been appointed to the AS after a few years in their public sector careers rather than at the point of entry into the public service, an increase from around three in four 10 years ago.

Similarly, most mid-career entrants from the private sector serve in various public service agencies, before being considered for possible AS appointment. The number of officers who were directly appointed to the AS from the private sector has therefore been small.

As at end-2022, around 11% of Administrative Officers (AOs) were not recipients of Government scholarships . This is an increase from 10 years ago, when around 7% of AOs were not scholarship recipients.