Cross-agency Collaboration on Policies to Address Youths' Aspirations and Needs in Housing, Employment and Family Formation

Ms Valerie Lee asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) how the Ministry works with the Ministries of National Development, Manpower and Social and Family Development to develop policies to address Singaporean youths' aspirations and needs in matters like housing, employment and family formation; and (b) how are the views of our youths being systematically incorporated into the development of these policies.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has been working closely with partners across the public, private and people (3P) sectors to support our youths. A case in point is the SG Youth Plan, which was shaped by engagements with more than 60,000 youths and developed with more than 200 partners, including agencies, such as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of National Development (MND), and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

On employment, the SG Youth Plan complements MOM's employability initiatives by going upstream to support youths in their school-to-work transition and career aspirations, through mentoring, job tasters and overseas exposure opportunities.

On housing, MCCY and the National Youth Council (NYC) work closely with MND to engage youths to understand their views on housing-related issues, and amplify MND's housing-related resources to youths. NYC will also be working with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to launch a Youth Advisory Panel on how the flat purchase journey could be enhanced for our youths.

On families, we are working with MSF to develop programmes to equip youths with the skills and support to build strong family bonds. Under the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, MCCY and NYC are also engaging youths to better understand their aspirations, experiences and challenges around friendships, dating and relationships.

The SG Youth Plan is a whole-of-society effort to support our youths, and a commitment that we believe in them. MCCY, together with our partners, will continue to engage our youths and ensure that they have a voice in our country.