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Every morning, Nicolette Foo starts her day with what she calls a “peaceful wind-up routine”, which involves sipping on a piping hot cup of coffee and watching the fish, shrimps and snails in her little fish tank at home.
The simple but meaningful ritual reminds the Defence Merit Scholarship (DMS) recipient to be grateful for the peace and security she enjoys as a resident of Singapore.
The DMS is awarded to applicants who assume civilian appointments in the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) after their university studies, serving in areas such as corporate affairs, defence relations and communications.
“The fact that we are more concerned with day-to-day things like ‘What am I going to have for breakfast today?’ than with safety and security issues is reflective of the good job that Mindef and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are doing to keep us safe,” says the 28-year-old, who is a senior manager in Mindef’s Manpower Policy Department .
Though you would not find Nicolette in combat gear, she plays a vital role in defending Singapore as a non-uniformed personnel, also known as a defence executive officer (DXO). In her current capacity, she helps shape policies that safeguard the SAF’s future and ensure Singapore’s peace and prosperity.
“It is a partnership between the uniformed and non-uniformed personnel. Just because we are not on the front line doesn’t mean the roles behind the scenes are not important,” she says.
Nicolette’s team designs career schemes that draw and retain talent which meets the organisation’s needs. These include three schemes for military personnel and one for non-uniformed personnel like herself, comprising features such as retention bonuses and retirement age caps.
From her current role, she has learnt the importance of organisations keeping themselves updated on trends in the labour market. Mindef/SAF is no exception. “This avoids complacency to ensure we can continue to be an attractive employer,” she says.
Nicolette’s interest in public service began early. Growing up, Nicolette was inspired by her father, a lawyer who started his career at the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
After her A-level examinations, she did an eight-week internship at the Ministry of Health. It gave her a glimpse of what government work was like and cemented her decision to apply only for scholarships from the public service sector.
On the DMS, she pursued a bachelor of science in psychology at King’s College London, followed by a master of science in social research methods at The London School of Economics and Political Science.
“At school, my favourite subject was literature, the study of the human condition and presenting it with words. But I realised it was more of the human condition aspect that I was interested in. That is why I decided to study psychology,” she explains.
Upon her return from Britain, Nicolette spent two years as a defence psychologist before being rotated to work on national service (NS) policy and manpower policy.
While her current role is not focused on psychology, the research methods that she learnt in school have come in useful for gathering data in surveys or focus group discussions.
Just like the crux of the study of psychology, the manpower policies she designs are about “the individual human being’s experience”, she says.
“When it comes to policies that have a huge scale – for example, something like NS – it is not just about one or two people but all national service-liable males in Singapore that your policy design will impact.”
For instance, one of her long-standing projects is the Mindef/SAF Work-Learn Schemes which sponsor diploma education or partial university credits for selected military personnel.
“One of the considerations is to enable them to have a more meaningful time at NS,” Nicolette says. There are many different perspectives to consider as well. She further explains that she has to look at the policy construct with a NS policy lens as well as with an eye on career progression.
Nicolette, who met her artillery officer husband during one of her vacation attachments, has come a long way from her younger days when she had to do online research to learn more about Mindef.
“Just because we are not on the front line doesn’t mean the roles behind the scenes are not important.”
– Nicolette Foo, recipient of the Defence Merit Scholarship
Now as part of the organisation, she better appreciates the peace and security in Singapore that most of us often take for granted. “Behind the scenes, a lot of people are doing a lot of hard work to enable us to live our daily lives in safety,” she notes.
Over the past five years, Nicolette has held three different roles at Mindef. She says the rotation helps her to become a “more well-rounded DXO”.
She adds that in the manpower division alone, personnel get a taste of different job scopes, from formulating manpower policies to working on NS projects.
“Beyond this division, there are also many important and interesting functions like communications and finance. It is a career that is not only focused on furthering Mindef’s defence interests but is also very diverse as you can pursue many different paths in your career here.”
Constantly stimulated by the multifaceted nature of her job, she adds: “It takes a lot of brain power to understand the complexities of issues and to be able to come to an all-rounded assessment, which is intellectually challenging and satisfying.”
And it is not just the morning brew and her freshwater pets that get her out of bed every day.
She says: “I wake up every day and never question the meaning of my work because it’s meaningful to contribute to the day-to-day lives of Singaporeans.”
| About the Defence Merit Scholarship The Defence Merit Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship offered by MINDEF for non-uniformed appointments in the organisation. The scholarship grants you a world-class education at some of the most eminent universities. Upon graduation, Defence Merit Scholars enjoy a highly rewarding and challenging career as a Defence Executive Officer (DXO) within MINDEF. As DXOs, they will play strategic roles in the defence and security of Singapore. |
This article is brought to you by the Ministry of Defence.
