Targeted help for hiring and reskilling in financial services

Ms Antonia Chen joined OCBC just under a year ago after taking up a TFIP course in cloud computing. PHOTO: OCBC

Every six months, the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) will study hiring opportunities and potential job losses in the financial services sector.

With this information, it will work with financial institutions to reskill or redeploy employees before they lose their jobs, and develop new training and attachment programmes for mid-career hires, it said yesterday.

The organisation will also hold more targeted career fairs that bring job and traineeship opportunities offered by various financial institutions on a common platform, and get senior financial services practitioners on board as adjunct career coaches.

The IBF, which provides skills training, career advisory and job matching for the financial services sector, is working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on this effort.

It is part of the organisation's new role as the National Jobs Council's jobs development partner for the financial sector, helping to boost opportunities for Singaporeans to access jobs and traineeships in the industry.

One of the programmes it has helped to develop is the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (TFIP), which was launched last year.

The scheme equips participants with skills in new areas such as data analytics and cloud computing. Trainees are then attached to financial institutions such as banks or investment management firms.

Ms Antonia Chen, who has a degree in electrical engineering and used to work at ST Engineering Aerospace, joined OCBC just under a year ago after taking up a TFIP course in cloud computing.

Although she had no background in finance or IT, she decided to make the switch because she wanted a job that would require more technical expertise, and felt that her former role had little scope for near-term growth.

Now a full-time employee with OCBC, part of Ms Chen's role involves using her skills to automate IT infrastructure processes.

In some ways, the problem-solving process recalls her old job, said Ms Chen, 33. "The thought process of how to solve a problem is very similar, but the tools are different."

Linette Lai

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 17, 2020, with the headline Targeted help for hiring and reskilling in financial services. Subscribe