DBS scheme to equip 1,500 staff with new skills to be future-ready

In a move to help employees sharpen their competitiveness and deepen their skillset, DBS Bank will proactively reskill 1,500 employees over the next 18 months under a scheme known as the Professional Conversion Programme.

Extolling this as a "first for a Singapore bank", DBS said that it has proactively mapped out eight job roles to help employees in these roles obtain the necessary knowledge and competencies to take on new or enhanced roles within the bank after being reskilled.

The roles identified are from departments across the bank, such as back-end operations in consumer banking and institutional banking, and client-facing ones in branches.

For example, a branch service executive whose job is to serve customers' banking needs over the counter can be reskilled to help the bank raise awareness of its latest self-service options.

And a customer service officer stationed at a customer centre could be reskilled to also serve customers through new digital channels such as live chat, video teller machines, e-mail and even social media.

To fund this programme, DBS will receive partial funding from Workforce Singapore, with the balance of the reskilling costs borne by the bank.

Employees who are on the programme will undergo classroom training ranging from five days to a month, and six months of on-the-job training.

"DBS is committed to building a future-ready workforce that will boost our ability to spearhead the transformation of banking in a fast-changing business environment," said group head of human resources Lee Yan Hong.

"With our customers' banking preferences changing and technology transforming the way financial services are provided and delivered, over the next five years, DBS aims to reskill our employees to equip them with the relevant skills to stay ahead in a dynamic financial industry."

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 November 01, 2017, with the headline DBS scheme to equip 1,500 staff with new skills to be future-ready. Subscribe