The finance professionals will learn practical ways to apply AI at work
1. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) have strengthened our partnership to advance AI skills upgrading and workforce development for the financial sector. This would be done through the suite of IBF-accredited programmes by NTUC LearningHub to equip up to 100,000 finance professionals in Singapore with Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills over the next three years. This effort marks a significant milestone in strengthening the sector’s readiness for a rapidly evolving digital economy. This strengthened partnership was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Mr Gan Kim Yong during his speech at The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS)’s 53rd annual dinner on 25 June 2026.
5. NTUC LearningHub’s Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Ong said, “As AI transforms the financial services sector, the differentiator will not be who has access to AI, but who knows how to use it responsibly and effectively. Professionals need to understand not only what AI can do, but also where human judgement, accountability and oversight become even more critical. At NTUC LearningHub, we are committed to helping the workforce develop both the AI literacy and human skills needed to navigate this shift with confidence. By combining technical understanding with critical thinking and ethical decision-making, professionals can harness AI to drive productivity and innovation while upholding the trust and accountability that underpin the financial industry."
6. As part of the NTUC-IBF partnership, finance professionals can enrol in the new IBF-accredited “AI Foundation for Finance Professionals” course to build essential AI capabilities for working effectively and responsibly alongside AI. Delivered as an asynchronous e-learning course on the NTUC LearningHub’s Learning eXperience Platform (LXP), the programme offers accessible, flexible, and on-demand learning to support industry-wide upskilling at scale. Designed by NTUC LearningHub, the course contextualised for the financial sector, empowers professionals to apply Generative AI in their day-to-day roles to enhance workplace productivity, while reinforcing the importance of human judgement, accountability, and responsible use of AI in financial decision-making. Eligible finance professionals can also tap on IBF funding support of up to 70% for this course. More details on the course are provided in Annex A.
Strengthening NTUC-IBF Partnership Beyond AI Skilling for Finance Professionals
7. Beyond AI skills upgrading, IBF has been working closely with NTUC to provide support for finance professionals at different career stages. Through NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and IBF Careers Connect, workers will have greater access to career support and career advisory services to help them navigate evolving job roles and career pathways within the sector. Together, the collaboration also extends to growing the pipeline of future talent through youth outreach and mentoring initiatives, providing students and young talents with greater exposure to careers in the financial sector and opportunities to connect with industry practitioners.
8. IBF Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Neo said, “Building strong AI capabilities across the financial sector is essential to preparing the workforce for the future. To help our workforce acquire sector-relevant and practical AI skills and to use AI effectively and responsibly, IBF has partnered financial institutions and training providers like NTUC LearningHub, to co-shape AI courses that are IBF-accredited and contextualised with financial sector use cases, job roles and MAS guidelines. In a fast-evolving AI-enabled future, the strengthened IBF-NTUC partnership is timely as we scale AI upskilling, and provide comprehensive support for our workforce through outreach, career advisory and youth mentoring.”
About the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions as well as a network of professional associations and partners across all sectors in Singapore. NTUC's objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and working people remain employable for life; to enhance the social status and well-being of our members and working people; and to build a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. NTUC's vision is to be an inclusive labour movement for all collars, ages and nationalities. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement, which comprises 58 affiliated unions, six affiliated associations, a portfolio of businesses and six related organisations, as well as a growing ecosystem of professional associations and enterprise partners. For more details, visit www.ntuc.org.sg.
About the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore
The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) was established in 1974 as a not-for-profit industry association to foster and develop the professional competencies of the financial industry. IBF represents the interests of close to 250-member financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, securities brokerages and asset management firms.
IBF is the national accreditation and certification agency for financial industry competency in Singapore under the Skills Framework for Financial Services, which were developed in partnership with the industry. Since 2018, IBF is the appointed programme manager for the administration of professional conversion programmes for the financial industry under Workforce Singapore. IBF also provides personalised career advisory to Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents exploring a new role in, or career switch into the financial industry, under IBF Careers Connect. Since mid-October 2020, IBF has been appointed by the National Jobs Council as the Jobs Development Partner for the financial industry. For more information, visit www.ibf.org.sg.
NTUC, IBF and Key Financial Sector Associations Ink Partnership to Upskill and
Support Workforce Amidst Financial Sector Transformation, 16 Aug 2024, https://www.ntuc.org.sg/uportal/news/NTUC-IBF-and-Key-FIN-Sector-Associations-Ink-Partnership-to-Upskill-and-Support-Workforce
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