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 Singaporeans to be groomed through structured talent development programmes for future specialist and management leadership roles in various segments of the financial services industry.

The FAMS helps defray part of the costs incurred by Financial Institutions (FIs) in the hiring of Singapore citizens (SCs) for the programmes.

Resources

FAMS FAQ for FIs
(Last Updated: 24 Aug 2020)

Eligibility


  • Applicants should be Singapore-based FIs[1] , or industry associations that may act as aggregators.
  • Eligible programme participants include new entrants who are recent graduates[2] or cross-sector convertees[3]. Only SCs will be supported.
  • Eligible programmes, new or existing, must contain the following components:
    1. Rotations, making up a least 50% of total programme duration;
      1. For specialist programmes, including those that target priority areas: rotations are generally within function
      2. For general programmes: rotations can be within or across functions
    2. Structured training (e.g. classroom training, leadership training, e-learning); and
    3. Mentorship programme.

To ensure quality of the programme delivery, IBF will take into consideration the employment size of the applicant in assessing the proposed intake of the programmes. 

Programmes that offer international exposure will be assessed more favourably (e.g. rotations to international-facing functions based in Singapore, rotations to overseas offices for job shadowing. Overseas attachments/postings will be eligible for additional funding support under FAMS.


Hiring Commitment 


​Hiring Commitment



Over a 3-year period, FIs

With headcount of > 200:
  1. that is applying for an existing programme, which has been supported under FAMS or otherwise [4]:
    • To hire at least 3 times the FI’s annual SCs hiring baseline (as determined by the average annual SC hiring of the same programme in the preceding 5 years)

  2. that is applying for a new programme:
    • To hire a minimum of 3 SCs
With headcount of ≤ 200:
  1. that is applying for an existing programme which has been supported under FAMS:
    • To hire at least 3 times the FI’s annual SCs hiring baseline (as determined by the average annual SC hiring of the same programme in the preceding 5 years)

  2. that is applying for a new programme, or an existing programme which has not been supported under FAMS [4]:
    • To hire a minimum of 3 SCs

Funding Support


​Cohorts hired from 2022 - 2024



  1. S$2,000 per eligible SC hire per month of programme (capped at 24 months) for specialist programmes in below-listed priority areas or
    S$1,000 per eligible SC hire per month of programme (capped at 24 months) for general programmes and specialist programmes in areas other than the below-listed priority areas

  2. Additional S$5,000 per month for overseas exposure (capped at 6 months)
​Priority areas
  • ​Portfolio management
  • Private banking and wealth management (including family office advisory) [5]
  • Research, trading and investment strategy
  • Actuarial
  • Reinsurance and specialty insurance
  • Green finance
  • Technology, digital and data analytics

Approval and Claims Process

Approval for funding under FAMS is on a case-by-case basis, subject to the applicant fulfilling all eligibility criteria.

Funding for approved applications will be disbursed on an annual basis. More details will be outlined in the Letter of Offer provided to successful applicants.

How to Apply


  1. Applications should be submitted at least two months before the commencement of the programmes.
  2. Applicants are also required to submit the detailed training schedule (including plans for rotation, mentorship and structured training) under their structured programmes for the SCs.

Keen to find out how your FI can leverage on this scheme? 

Contact us at fams@ibf.org.sg. 







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 Management Associate programme which has not received funding under FAMS before.
[5]Relating to sales, after sales, distribution, and relationship management.