Jobs and Skills

MAS introduced additional measures to support and strengthen the development of workers in the financial services sector

26 November 2020 and 25 June 2021

MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) launched the “Growing Timber” series of webinars and events to deepen and broaden the partnership with the financial industry and finance professionals, and strengthen the Singaporean core in financial services. 

At the inaugural “Growing Timber” webinar on 26 November 2020, MAS announced measures to help enhance the career prospects of Singaporeans in the financial sector and better position financial institutions (FIs) for growth. A new Work-Study Support Programme (WSSP) was launched to develop job-ready graduates as the longer-term strategy to build Singaporean talent pipeline for the financial services sector. MAS also extended its enhanced training support measures, first introduced in April 2020, by another six months to 30 June 2021. 

On 25 June 2021, MAS further extended the enhanced training measures to support training momentum in new growth areas and entrench the culture of training and upskilling as the sector transforms. These extended measures will be progressively reduced and cease on 1 July 2022.

Singapore’s financial and FinTech sectors continued to create jobs, traineeships and training opportunities

October 2020

In 2020, the financial and FinTech sectors created 2,500 net jobs, all of which went to locals. In addition, FIs have committed to hire close to 900 promising Singaporean citizens over the next three years to undergo structured talent development programmes. The financial sector has also supported jobseekers to enter into growth areas, including about 200 mid-career professionals who have embarked on the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (TFIP) to make career transitions into the sector’s growth areas. FIs have hosted over 1,600 trainees through SGUnited Traineeships and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – Company Attachments track, which is under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. 

MAS supported and welcomed IBF’s appointment by the National Jobs Council as the Jobs Development Partner (JDP) for the financial services sector. As JDP, IBF would boost opportunities for Singaporeans to access jobs, traineeships, and training in the financial services sector. In December 2020, MAS and IBF started conducting a six-monthly survey on hiring opportunities and potential job losses in the financial industry, to work pre-emptively with FIs to reskill and redeploy at-risk workers, develop training and attachment programmes for in-demand areas, and hold more targeted career fairs.

MAS and IBF launched a skills map to enhance the capabilities of family office advisors

27 July 2020

The Family Office Advisor Skills Map sets out the skills and competencies that professionals advising family offices should possess, such as wealth planning administration and corporate governance. The inclusion of the Family Office Advisor role expands the career pathway for private banking relationship managers under the Skills Framework for Financial Services, and is a valuable resource for training providers and financial institutions to design and calibrate relevant training curriculum, and for family offices to refer to in their hiring process.

MAS worked with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to raise the new minimum qualifying salary (MQS) for entry-level employment pass holders in the financial services to S$5,000

27 August 2020

The calibrated increase in the MQS will provide further support for strengthening of the Singaporean core in the financial sector, while continuing to allow FIs to complement their local workforce by tapping on a global talent pool for specialised skillsets that the sector needs.