Many ex-offenders do not have much education. Coupled with a prison record, job opportunities are hard to come by. This creates a vicious cycle. Without a job, they become stressed. When stressed, they resort to drugs to relieve themselves of the stress. When they run out of money to buy drugs, they resort to crime. Providing ex-offenders with skills that enable them to secure a stable income helps to break this vicious cycle.
ISCOS has identified vocational driving as a skill attainable by most ex-offenders except for the relative high cost of attaining a driver’s licence in Singapore. Research has showed that Class 3 driving licence can bring about a 50% increase in salary compared with jobs such as a cleaner (one of the few jobs that are open to ex-offenders with limited education).
As such, the Rotary Club of Singapore is supporting ISCOS in their Skills Assistance Subsidy Scheme, to subsidise the cost of attaining a driving licence for ex-offenders.
