DBS launches institute to help 5,000 tech staff enhance skills

It will initially cover 3 disciplines: application security, site reliability engineering, data processing and analytics

Mr Jimmy Ng, group chief information officer at DBS, said the bank is constantly looking for innovative ways to maximise the potential of existing and emerging technologies to enhance its services. The DBS Future Tech Academy will tap both external e
The DBS Future Tech Academy will tap both external experts as well as content and certifications developed in-house. DBS said this will enable employees to pick up the latest technology skill sets from external industry experts and apply them to projects it rolls out. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Mr Jimmy Ng, group chief information officer at DBS, said the bank is constantly looking for innovative ways to maximise the potential of existing and emerging technologies to enhance its services. The DBS Future Tech Academy will tap both external e
Mr Jimmy Ng, group chief information officer at DBS, said the bank is constantly looking for innovative ways to maximise the potential of existing and emerging technologies to enhance its services.

DBS Bank has launched an in-house digital training institute to groom its tech talent and enhance the skills of its nearly 5,000-strong tech workforce.

The DBS Future Tech Academy will initially cover three technology disciplines - application security, site reliability engineering, and data processing and analytics, the bank said yesterday.

DBS will evaluate more programmes to cover other key tech domains at the mostly virtual academy in the next 12 months.

The DBS Future Tech Academy will tap both external experts as well as content and certifications developed in-house.

DBS said this will enable employees to pick up the latest technology skill sets from external industry experts and apply them to projects it rolls out.

The bank's technologists will also be granted access to tech-focused digital learning platforms such as O'Reilly and Pluralsight. This will allow them to pick up relevant skills and knowledge to complement their training in the academy.

Mr Jimmy Ng, group chief information officer at DBS, said the bank is constantly looking for innovative ways to maximise the potential of existing and emerging technologies to enhance its services.

"Having our own DBS Future Tech Academy gives us the agility to adapt our training curricula according to the bank's needs and enables us to stay ahead of the massive changes around us," he said.

Besides the academy, DBS said it is sponsoring the training of some 200 Singaporeans on traineeships with the bank.

The trainees will go through skills certification programmes offered by the academy and will also be given free access to the digital learning platforms.

The bank said: "By equipping the trainees with foundational skills in growth technology areas, DBS hopes to encourage them to pursue a longer-term career in technology regardless of whether they stay on with the bank after their traineeships."

Ms Vanessa Leo, who joined DBS under the SGUnited Traineeship Programme in September after graduating from Nanyang Technological University, said she appreciates being able to go through the same training and certification programmes as full-time employees.

The 23-year-old has since joined the bank's skill enhancement education and development programme, which grooms young graduates for careers in roles such as development and cyber security. She said: "These learning opportunities help me to lay a strong foundation for a technology career in banking and finance."

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 08, 2021, with the headline DBS launches institute to help 5,000 tech staff enhance skills. Subscribe