SINGAPORE - In a move to help employees sharpen their competitiveness and deepen their skillset, DBS Bank will proactively re-skill 1,500 employees over the next 18 months under a scheme known as Professional Conversion Programme (DBS PCP).
Extolling this as a "first for a Singapore bank", DBS said that it has 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 re-skilled.
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 re-skilled to help the bank raise awareness of its latest self-service options. A customer service officer (CSO) stationed at the customer centre could be re-skilled to also serve customers through new digital channels such as live chat, video teller machines (VTM), emails and even social media.
To fund this programme, DBS will receive partial funding from Workforce Singapore (WSG), with the balance of the re-skilling 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 Lee Yan Hong, group head of human resources at DBS Bank.
"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 re-skill our employees to equip them with the relevant skills to stay ahead in a dynamic financial industry," she added.
The Government on Monday (Oct 30) called on financial firms to re-train, not retrench, when jobs become at risk because of digital disruption.
Speaking at the launch of the financial services industry transformation map, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said employers must be able to help the less-skilled and vulnerable keep up with the changes and stay relevant.
