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The task of continually upskilling and reskilling the financial sector workforce remains of paramount importance. IBF has been singularly focused on this task and has put in place various initiatives to build up a strong talent pipeline.
Training participation has reached a new high. The number of individuals who attended IBF programmes increased over three-fold in 2021 compared to 2019.
The financial sector is seeing growing demand for skills and capabilities in areas like wealth management, technology, and sustainability. IBF has stepped up its efforts to expand training opportunities in these areas. Almost 100 training programmes in wealth management, sustainable finance, and technology attained IBF accreditation.
The Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (TFIP) has achieved good results in training mid-career professionals to pivot into technology roles in the financial sector. Since it was launched in 2019, close to 600 mid-career individuals have participated in TFIP with 90% of the participants from the inaugural batch emplaced in related tech roles. A new track in Technology, Information and Cybersecurity Risk will be introduced this year.
IBF and MAS launched the Sustainable Finance Technical Skills and Competencies (SF TSCs) covering a range of thematic and functional skills needed for individuals to perform various roles in sustainable finance. The SF TSCs are part of the IBF Skills Framework for Financial Services and serve as reference for the design of training programmes to equip the workforce with the relevant skillsets. Finance professionals can also reference the specific knowledge and skills as a guide to upskill and take on sustainability job roles.
In the area of wealth management, IBF and MAS further developed the Family Office Executive and Family Office Management Professional Skills Maps, as well as Family Governance and Philanthropy Advisory Technical Skills and Competencies to set out the skills and competencies that professionals in Singapore’s family office ecosystem need to excel in their job roles and their possible career pathways.
IBF has continued to work closely with financial institutions to pre-emptively reskill and redeploy finance professionals through the Career Conversion Programme (CCP). About 2,200 finance professionals completed their reskilling and took on new job roles since 2017 while another 2,500 are currently undergoing training and 1,300 will be commencing training in the year ahead. The Consumer Banking segment achieved strong progress with close to 3,200 commencements and nearly 2,000 individuals completing the CCP programme.
IBF will be launching the Wealth Management Acceleration Programme (WMAP) to grow the pool of retail banking relationship managers under the “Place-and-Train” CCP model.
Since 2018, IBF Careers Connect has provided career advice and guidance to about 2,250 jobseekers, with more than 550 successful placements. It saw a 34% increase in jobseekers assisted and a 92% increase in placements in 2021 as compared to 2020. Additionally, many jobseekers have benefited from the webinars conducted by our IBF Fellows. Industry practitioners who came on board as our adjunct coaches have also provided in-depth job insights and career clarity to our jobseekers.
Our virtual career fairs were well attended with more than 15,000 individuals participating across our last five runs and over 25 financial institutions offering close to 700 jobs in areas like wealth management, compliance, and technology between August 2020 to December 2021.
The Finance Associate Management Scheme (FAMS) supports financial institutions to equip Singaporeans with opportunities to be groomed through structured talent development programmes for future specialist leadership or management roles. We have seen a two-fold increase in the number of trainees hired under FAMS in 2021.
IBF’s achievements reflect the unwavering support and guidance of our IBF Council members, IBF Standards Committee members, Exam Board members, and industry workgroups.
I would like to thank Mr Craig Ellis and Dr Michael Fung who have stepped down from the IBF Council, for their dedication and commitment to industry development. I welcome on board Mr Foo Piao Zhou and Mr Ronak Shah to the IBF Council.
IBF will continue to work together with our stakeholders and partners, to develop new initiatives and drive greater adoption of our programmes, to build a world-class financial sector workforce in Singapore.
Ravi Menon
Chairman, IBF
Read this article on how IBF Careers Connect has helped Carmen Lum in her job search after relocating back to Singapore.
IBF Careers Connect has assisted close to
in their career development since it was launched in 2018. Our IBF Fellows and industry practitioners with their specialised knowledge and experience have also helped our jobseekers gain valuable insights on career development. Check out their services here.
More than 15,000 individuals attended our targeted virtual career fairs in 2021 where our speakers shared exciting opportunities in growth areas such as wealth management, FinTech and corporate banking. A total of 26 financial institutions participated, offering close to 700 jobs in wealth management, compliance, technology, and many others.
IBF Careers Connect has offered career advice and guidance to about 2,300 jobseekers within the financial services industry since it was launched in 2018.
The International Postings Programme (iPOST) supports financial institutions to send Singaporeans on overseas postings. This scheme is expanded to include promising young talents beyond mid-senior levels.
90% of individuals from the Technology Immersion in Finance (TFIP) inaugural batch in 2019 have successfully pivoted to tech or related roles. Since launch, close to 600 individuals have participated in TFIP.
Launched in May 2021, the Work-Study Support Programme (WSSP) aims to build a pipeline of job ready graduates for the financial sector through structured internships. So far, financial institutions have committed to hire 84 students as interns, with majority of them specialising in Information and Communications Technology and Business Analytics.
Through the Career Conversion Programme (CCP), we continue to partner with financial institutions to pre-emptively reskill and redeploy finance professionals. The Consumer Banking sector achieved the strongest progress with close to 3,200 commencements and nearly 2,000 finance professionals completing the programme.
Close to 9,000 individuals attained certification in Compliance, Consumer Banking, Financial Planning, Risk Management, to reach their next level of professional excellence and competencies.
The 12 Sustainable Finance TSCs covering a range of thematic and functional skills were introduced to provide guidance for finance professionals in deepening their specialist skillsets in this emerging area.
The Family Office Executive and Family Office Management Professional as well as Family Governance and Philanthropy Advisory Technical Skills and Competencies (TSCs) were developed for finance professionals to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge across the wealth management and family office sectors.
The IBF Council provides strategic direction and sets major policies of the Institute. The Council comprises representatives from financial institutions of local and foreign banks, industry associations and government agencies. The Council typically meets three to four times a year to review business policies and progress and ensure that this is aligned to the Institute’s objectives to foster and develop professional competencies for the financial services industry.
In 2021, the Council held 2 meetings. The attendance of the meetings is as follows:
The Council elects from its members a Chairman and Vice Chairman, and appoints one member as Chairperson of the IBF Standards Committee and three of its members each to the Audit Committee.
The Committee Chairman and members have relevant qualifications and/or experience to provide effective oversight. Council members do not receive any remuneration for their service to the Institute. Any declarations of interest submitted by members are surfaced at the next Council meeting to ensure that members continue to be aligned with the interests of the Institute.
The Council may have members who continue to serve more than 10 consecutive years in their role. Council members are nominated by various parties such as government agencies (i.e. Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower) as well as local financial associations (represented by CEOs of financial institutions).
We thank the following members who have stepped down from the IBF Council:
The IBF Standards Committee comprises senior leaders from key sub-sectors of the financial services industry, government agencies and the union. The Committee provides guidance and supports initiatives to develop professional competencies through the adoption of the Skills Framework for Financial Services, certification and continuing professional development.
Patrick Lee
CEO
Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited
Brendan Carney
Chief Executive Officer
Citibank Singapore Limited
Lawrence Goh
Managing Director
Group Technology & Operations
United Overseas Bank Limited
Robin Heng
Managing Director, Global Market Head
Bank of Singapore Limited
Kenneth Lai
Executive Vice President, Head
Global Treasury
Global Treasury Division
Oversea-Chinese Banking
Corporation Limited
Chelvin Loh
Director, Skills Development Group
SkillsFuture Singapore
Melvyn Low
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Transaction Banking
Oversea-Chinese Banking
Corporation Limited
Nishit Majmudar
Senior Advisor
Aviva Singlife
Nimish Panchmatia
Chief Data and Transformation Officer
DBS Group
Eleanor Seet
President & Head of Asia, ex-Japan
Nikko Asset Management Asia Limited
Gillian Woo
Director, Creative & Professional
Services Division
Workforce Singapore
Andrew Yeo
Chief Executive Officer
NTUC Income
Loretta Yuen
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Head of Group Legal &
Regulatory Compliance
Oversea-Chinese Banking
Corporation Limited
Kelvin S B Tan
Managing Director
Head of Sustainable Finance &
Investments, ASEAN
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Sylvia Choo
Director (Union)
National Trades Union Congress
Executive Secretary
Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union (SISEU)
Ng Nam Sin
Chief Executive Officer
The Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF)
We thank the following members who stepped down from the IBF Standards Committee:
The IBF Audit Committee oversees the Institute’s financial reporting process, risk management, internal control systems and processes and audit function.
Guan Yeow Kwang
Chairman, Sub-committee on Manpower Development,
Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee (SFEMC);
Executive Officer,
Singapore Branch CEO, Mizuho Bank Ltd
Dr John Lee
Country CEO & CEO,
Maybank Singapore
Wong Sze Keed
CEO,
AIA Singapore
Foo Piao Zhou
Member of IBF Audit Committee;
Group Director, Enterprise Development Group,
SkillsFuture Singapore
We thank the following member who stepped down from the IBF Audit Committee:
Dr Michael Fung
Deputy Chief Executive (Industry),
SkillsFuture Singapore
Mr Ng Nam Sin
Chief Executive Officer
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Public Accountants and Chartered Accountants
Jaya Marlyni D/O Sivanesan
KGP Legal LLC
Advocates & Solicitors
