As part of the efforts to create job opportunities and build skills for the future, the tripartite partners in the banking sector launched an advisory on human resources (HR) practices for banks. Developed jointly from the collaboration between The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), the advisory is among the initiatives under the jobs and skills agenda of the Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM).

When asked why HR policies and practices are chosen to be the main focus, Deputy Managing Director for MAS, Jacqueline Loh said that sound that solid HR practices are critical to build the skills and competencies needed for a versatile and resilient financial sector workforce. Therefore, the agency is committed to work closely with the banks to promote the practices set out in the advisory.

According to the press release revealed on Thursday (Mar 14), the advisory is aimed to set out good practices in hiring, reskilling, redeployment and retrenchment, as well as encourage banks in Singapore to equip their workforce with relevant skills and capabilities to meet the future demands in the industry. The advisory will provide guidance on developing deep and diverse talent pool of both local and foreign professionals.

See: 7 in 10 Finance Leaders in Singapore Failed to Hire the Best-fit Talents

The advisory calls on banks to proactively assess how technological changes will bring impacts on their workforce, and to work hand-in-hand with the MAS, Institute of Banking and Finance, and Workforce Singapore to reskill and redeploy their professionals into areas of job growth through professional conversion programmes. Further, it also encourages banks to adopt inclusive hiring practices which focus on the skills instead of set a strict minimum number of years of experiences, while conducting any retrenchment exercise responsibly and work with tripartite partners to support affected employees.

Speaking at the launch event, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah said that all stakeholders – the banks, unions, employees, and government – should work together to transform the industry’s workforce to prepare for the future of jobs. She pointed out that even as the financial sector continued to have access to the best regional and global talent, it was important to build a strong Singapore Core.

As technology has increasingly transformed jobs, finance professionals turn to re-skill and move into new jobs, this shift in advisory focus will be crucial to help banks thrive in the forthcoming time.

Piyush Gupta, Chairman of ABS stated that as global competition intensifies and technological disruption keeps reshaping the banking industry, organisations need to do more to sharpen their competitiveness. By working together with tripartite partners, it is expected that they can better the workforce with relevant skills and build capabilities for the future. This advisory enables them to create better experiences and business outcomes for customers.

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