Overview

What is the Finance Associate Management Scheme?

The Finance Associate Management Scheme (FAMS) is a talent development initiative supported by the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF). Its objective is to increase opportunities for Singapore Citizens (SCs) to be groomed through structured talent development programmes that can lead on to future specialist and management leadership roles in various segments of the financial services industry.

Under FAMS, FSDF will co-fund salary costs incurred by Financial Institutions (FIs) in the hiring and training of SCs for the talent development programmes.
Eligibility

Applicants

  • Singapore-based FIs[1]

Programme participants

  • Recent graduates[2] or cross-sector convertees[3] who are SCs

Programme design

  • Programme duration must be at least 6 months to ensure that the hires are sufficiently trained.

  • Programmes will be evaluated based on the following components:
    • Number of job rotations, making up a least 50% of total programme duration

      – For programmes under priority areas (see Section 3 “Funding Support” for the list and definition of priority areas), rotations must be within the function

      – For programmes in non-priority areas, any form of rotation whether within or across functions is acceptable

    • Number of hours of structured training (e.g., classroom training, leadership training, e-learning); and
    • Number of mentorship sessions.

  • Programmes will be considered more favourably if it:

    • Targets hiring and training in priority areas;
    • Incorporates international exposure component, e.g., rotations to international-facing functions based in Singapore or rotations to overseas offices for job shadowing; and
    • Is a new programme set-up (i.e., FI is seeking funding for the first cohort of hires into the programme)

  • Programmes funded under FAMS previously will not be considered if there was high attrition rate or substantial hiring shortfall in the most recent cohort that completed the programme.
    • Applicant is required to address weaknesses or gaps in the programme design and/or hiring projections to be considered for funding.

  • Workforce size of the applicant will be taken into consideration in evaluating programmes.

 

Funding Support

Funding parameters

  • Funding will be provided for all incremental SCs hired by the FI, up to the total number of incremental hires committed for the year.
    • Incremental SCs refer to SCs hired above the hiring baseline [5], which is determined by the average annual SC hired of the same programme in the preceding 5 years.
  • Only SC hires who complete at least 90% of the programme duration will be funded.

Funding levels

  • Programmes in the following priority areas will be funded based on $2,000 per SC per month, capped at 24 months:

    ​PA1 - Portfolio management
    PA2 - Private banking and wealth management (including family office advisory) [6]
    PA 3 - Research, trading and investment strategy
    PA 4 - Actuarial
    PA 5 - Reinsurance and specialty insurance
    PA 6 - Green finance
    PA 7 - Technology, digital and data analytics

    To qualify as a programme under FAMS’ priority area,

    1. At least two-third of the duration of the programme must be spent on rotations in the priority area(s); remaining duration of the rotations outside of priority areas must be in roles that are relevant to, or will equip SC hires with knowledge and skills in the priority area(s); and

    2. SC hires will be placed in roles within priority area(s) at the end of the programme.

  • Programmes in all other areas will be funded based on $1,000 per SC per month, capped at 24 months.

  • Programmes with at least 3 months of overseas job rotation will be funded an additional S$5,000 per SC per month, capped at 6 months.

     

    Funding cap

  • $500,000 for each FI group[7] for all SC hires committed per year.
Approval and Claims Process

Applications that fulfil all eligibility criteria will be evaluated. Please refer to Section 2 “Eligibility” for details on programmes that will be considered more favourably. 

Claims submission for approved applications shall be submitted by the FI once within 3 months upon the cohort completion of the programme.

Please submit claims using the claims forms provided in the Letter of Offer.

How to Apply

Applications are to be submitted within the annual application window, or prior to the programme commencement (whichever is earlier).

Applications for hiring in 2023 have closed on 31 August 2023. 

Applications for hiring in 2024 will open from 1 January – 31 March 2024. [8]

Please revisit this webpage for the link to submit your application or contact IBF at [email protected] for enquiries. 

Applications submitted on or after the commencement of the programme, or outside of the application window period, will strictly not be entertained.

Resources

Download resources here:
FAMS Application Form FAMS Application Form
FAMS FAQ for FIs FAMS FAQ for FIs

Footnotes:

[1]  Entities regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (either licensed, approved, registered or recognised; or exempted from being licensed, approved, registered or recognised). 

[2] Recent graduates refer to SCs who have graduated within 24 months from the date of hire, from tertiary institutions (e.g., polytechnics, local or overseas universities). 

[3] Cross-sector convertees refer to SCs whose last formal employment (excluding internships and traineeships) was outside of the financial sector.

[4] Refers to FI’s existing programme which has not received funding under FAMS before.

[5] Baseline refers to the average annual SCs hired of the same programme in the preceding 5 years. To illustrate, if the hiring baseline is 10 SCs, the applicant would have to hire and maintain a number above 10 SCs to be eligible for FAMS funding. If the applicant hires 11 SCs, only 1 SC (i.e., the incremental number) will be funded.

[6] Relating to sales, after sales, distribution, and relationship management.

[7] FI entities will be assessed as an FI group as long as (i) there is name-sharing (e.g., ABC Ltd and ABC Singapore Ltd) or (ii) if the FIs’ HR function is centralised.

[8] For programmes commencing on 1 January 2024 (i.e., the start of the application window period), FIs submit the application on or before 31 December 2023. 

Got a question? Get your answer

Unsure about Funding & Schemes? We’re here to answer!

FAQs Contact Us