Call for finance professionals to upgrade and to mentor others

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing (centre) and Institute of Banking and Finance deputy chief executive Lydia Wee (left) with award winners at the institute's distinction evening last night. The annual gala dinner recognises contributions
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing (centre) and Institute of Banking and Finance deputy chief executive Lydia Wee (left) with award winners at the institute's distinction evening last night. The annual gala dinner recognises contributions that have transformed the financial sector. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

The Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) is nudging finance professionals to upgrade their skills, plan their careers and mentor others with a microsite it launched last night.

As part of a campaign called FutureMeNow, the site allows professionals to indicate that they would like to talk to someone about their career plans or be a mentor, said Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon in his welcome remarks at the institute's distinction evening.

The annual gala dinner, held this year at the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, recognises contributions that have transformed the financial sector.

Mr Menon, who is also IBF chairman, said: "(The microsite) is a call to action for industry professionals... to take ownership and contribute to enabling our workforce for the future."

IBF chief executive Ng Nam Sin said that the institute will "support professionals based on the personal pledges they (committed) to".

For example, people who indicate that they want to learn new skills will be recommended relevant courses and events, based on their areas of interest, Mr Ng added.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said at the event that transforming the sector's workforce into one that is skilled and tech-enabled is crucial.

"We are facing unprecedented disruption from the technological fields, not just in terms of scale but more significantly, in terms of speed," Mr Chan said.

"The finance industry is at the forefront of this disruption," he added, noting that opportunities can be created for the sector if the challenges are managed well.

"New technologies will require us to build globally competitive technological teams.

"We need to double our efforts to develop our workforce and to attract global talent to come and work with... Singapore for us to compete in a global arena."

Seven finance professionals received the IBF Distinguished Fellow awards while 28 others received the IBF Fellow awards. Among them were representatives from DBS Bank, United Overseas Bank, OCBC Bank, Prudential Assurance Company and Citibank.

The awardees had contributed to the financial sector through their active involvement in advisory groups, industry projects, training and mentoring.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 05, 2018, with the headline Call for finance professionals to upgrade and to mentor others. Subscribe