Parliament 2014: New scheme to spur youth to volunteer

Youth Corps Singapore (YCS) will have its first intake of about 200 in June.

The one-year programme will include a residential training programme that equips youths with knowledge and skills in leadership, project management and service learning.

There will also be an overseas community project in one of the regional countries and a community project in Singapore - in partnership with an NGO or community group - which would be sustainable and impactful, and meet the needs of the community.

YCS is the first national-level programme of its kind and also "a first in many steps towards more impactful youth development and engagement", Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong told Parliament on Wednesday.

The initiative is meant to spur young Singaporeans to take up community work and continue to do so beyond their school years. The target is to have 6,000 volunteers each year.

"This first run will enable us to improve the design of the programme and fine-tune the working protocols with different partners. So we've brought in Outward Bound Singapore as a key partner to implement the Youth Corps and we're also looking for other community partners to be involved."

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