DBS has committed to hiring around 2,000 people here this year despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
It also said yesterday that there will be no lay-offs among its 12,000-strong workforce here and that all staff, including those unable to work because of circuit breaker restrictions or branch closures, remain on full pay.
Chief executive Piyush Gupta said: "As a key employer in Singapore, it seemed right to us to continue to create job opportunities where we can, so as to help more people tide through this difficult period.
"In particular, we want to do our part to avoid having a 'lost' generation of young graduates in Singapore whose career prospects are jeopardised because they are unable to find jobs due to the pandemic."
DBS has already hired 500 new staff to fill existing roles since February, with a further 500 to be taken on this year.
The other 1,000 or so hires are for new roles, including traineeships, graduate slots and specialised positions for experienced professionals.
The bank's programmes aimed at fresh or upcoming graduates, postgraduates and those with fewer than two years' working experience will take on about 200 of these new hires.
A further 500 students from universities, polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education or private institutions will be hired for six-to 12-month traineeships with the possibility of landing a permanent position.
This is part of DBS' participation in the SGUnited Traineeships Programme being run in partnership with the Government.
The remaining 360 or so new roles will be for seasoned professionals to support the bank's digitalisation efforts.
Most of these roles are in growth areas that DBS has identified, such as user interface design, data science, fraud detection compliance, as well as consumer and institutional banking technology.
The bank also aims to hire more than 60 people in jobs in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data analytics through a range of programmes aimed at allowing experienced professionals to move into technology roles in the financial service sector.
One such hire is former systems analyst Dawn Lum, who previously spent 14 years in the telecommunications industry and is now a trainee in the area of website development at DBS.
Ms Lum, 41, said: "This gives me a credible foundation for launching a career as a technologist in the banking and finance sector."
In addition to the 2,000 new hires, DBS expects to offer 400 or so internships this year under existing programmes.
