‘Find your own path’: PM Wong shares his dream for Singapore youth, encourages more to contribute to society

SINGAPORE: Young people in Singapore should not feel like they are under pressure to take certain routes in their lives, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Saturday (Aug 24).
“My dream for all of you is … for you to find your own path. Don’t feel like you have to conform,” he said at the inaugural Youth Policy Forum at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, in which around 1,000 youths participated. 
“Excel, strive and be the best that you can be in whatever you choose,” said Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister. “If you have that attitude, if you have that mindset, the government will want to support you in whatever you are doing.”
The government wants to help young people develop and grow to be the best versions of themselves, whether that be in arts, sports, research or business, he said.
“We want to encourage all of you to chase your rainbow, and we will be there to support you and cheer for you every step of the way,” he said.
But young people also need to be ready to work hard and do their part because things will not fall into their laps.
“There may even be stumbles and setbacks along the way, but embrace all of that – the setbacks, the failures. That can only make you stronger if you embrace it in the right spirit,” said Mr Wong.
In the process of chasing their dreams and realising their full potential, however, the Prime Minister encouraged the youth to think of other Singaporeans.
“Part of realising your dreams must be to help one another succeed, because we only succeed when we succeed together as one people,” he said. 
Mr Wong said that life should not revolve around “me, myself and I”, or we will never be happy or satisfied.
“We will never be content if it’s all about me, me, me, because ultimately, fulfilment comes through us serving a higher purpose and a greater calling,” he said.
The government wants to provide more opportunities for young people to make concrete and practical contributions to causes that they feel strongly about, he added.
At the Youth Policy Forum, youth panels that were formed last year unveiled their preliminary recommendations on improving financial literacy, increasing awareness of job opportunities in Southeast Asia, building a safer digital world and improving recycling.
The public can give feedback on the panels’ draft recommendations, which will be submitted to government agencies by the end of the year. The government will respond to the recommendations in the first half of 2025.
“We are very serious (about considering the recommendations), that’s why I’m here,” Mr Wong said at the forum, drawing laughter from the audience.
He said that the panels, which began their work in November and involved 120 youths, were just one way to get young people involved in contributing to Singapore’s development.
“We will think about future platforms, opportunities for you, and there will be many more,” he said. “The point is, there will be a way for young people like yourselves to contribute, not just for your own goals, not just for your own aspirations, but to larger public life, to shaping the society that we want to have in Singapore.”
During a dialogue session with forum participants, Mr Wong also addressed a question on the move to revamp Singapore’s Gifted Education Programme (GEP) in primary schools.
He said the government reviews ways to improve the education system, and sees value in supporting higher-ability students, just as students with greater learning needs are also supported. Higher-ability students can stretch themselves and go further, he added. 
“But how do we do it in a way that is inclusive? How do we do it in a way that is fair and that encourages social mixing, so that students grow up and they don’t feel like they are in a different group, but everyone (from) different backgrounds can interact with one another?” he asked.
That is why the government decided not to have GEP in only nine schools, but to have higher-ability students in all schools.
“You can continue in the same school with friends and teachers whom you have bonded with, and you will still get support as a higher-ability student to stretch yourself. So these are ways in which we keep on updating our system to get the best outcomes while reducing some of the negative effects,” he said.
Mr Wong was also asked by a youth participant to “be real” about volunteer work that he participated in when he was younger. He started off by saying that co-curricular activities were not as systematic when he was in school – and that they were called extracurricular activities back then.
The audience was impressed when Mr Wong said he was a prefect in secondary school, but the Prime Minister hurried to clarify that he only took on canteen duties like making sure students lined up properly, prompting one participant to remark that prefects still perform similar duties today.
He said he played computer games as a member of the computer club and played table tennis once a week as a member of that club. “The teachers left you to do your own thing,” he said.
At Victoria Junior College, he joined the choir, which was more demanding and vigorous than he expected.
“A lot of my volunteering happened outside of school,” he said. As a youth leader in church, he volunteered to help other communities such as the elderly.
After starting work, he and a few friends founded an organisation called PromiseWorks to mentor youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.
PromiseWorks later got folded into the Halogen Foundation, Mr Wong said to applause from the crowd.
Mr Wong also encouraged youth to join the workforce instead of studying more, in response to a question about whether the age limit for SkillsFuture could be lowered. Currently, Singaporeans receive S$500 (US$380) of credit when they turn 25 years old.
To those who are just fresh from school and looking for a job, he said: “You already have a lot of education behind you, right, at least 16 years of education. So start not by saying, I want to do more studying, but start by going into the workplace.”
At work, you will receive on-the-job training to adjust to the role. 
“Start by doing something. You will never know until you actually do something whether it fits you or not,” he said. “When you start, you learn, you grow into the role that you are assigned.”
Some may find that their jobs are not suitable, said Mr Wong, adding that they should not quit too early because everything tends to be challenging at the start.
But if the door is shut, or it seems to be the wrong door, it may be time to try something else, and you can tap on SkillsFuture and career-matching services or pursue further studies, he said.
“If you are young, you will still have the ability. You will still be relatively mobile, and you will be able to do so,” he added.
But for workers who are 40 and older, the transition is more difficult because habits become more entrenched and expectations are higher, said Mr Wong.
“All of you may think 40 and above is so far away, but you will get there one day! You will be 40 and above … you will be my age, I’m 52 this year, you will be 40s and 50s one day.
“And when you are sitting at 40, 50 years old, you will realise, gosh, it is more difficult,” he said to laughter from the audience.
Mr Wong said young people are not being neglected, and encouraged them to embrace the opportunities and make full use of the resources available to find work that they enjoy doing.
“Hopefully whatever you are doing becomes not just a job, not even a career, but a calling – something that you feel that: ‘This is my life’s purpose,'” he said.
“I think if you can find that alignment between your life purpose and whatever job that you are doing, that’s when, you know, you feel satisfied, you feel like that life is meaningful.”