New IBF-MAS survey to project job losses, placements in financial sector

Singapore

A NEW survey to project job losses and upcoming job placements in the financial sector will be launched by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

This six-monthly survey is meant to better match job seekers to roles available in financial services, with IBF one of three organisations tasked to develop jobs in partnership with the National Jobs Council.

Based on the data collected, the IBF will then approach relevant financial institutions to support their staff through pre-emptive reskilling and possible redeployment within the firm or the industry.

The data will also help the institute prioritise new training and attachment programmes for professionals making mid-career transitions.

The IBF and MAS announced this move on Friday, in conjunction with the appointment of IBF, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) as Jobs Development Partners (JDPs).

They are to work proactively with firms to create new roles, going beyond matching Singaporeans to existing job vacancies, the National Jobs Council said in a press release.

The appointment of the new JDPs represents a "significant change" in the way Singapore supports its workforce, which will now centre on a pre-emptive approach, rather than waiting for people to become redundant, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a fireside chat with OCBC chief executive Samuel Tsien during a visit to the bank's headquarters.

"The traditional game was you wait for people to become redundant, they lose their jobs and you find a way of re-training them and you try and match them to a new job," said Mr Tharman, who chairs both the National Jobs Council and the MAS.

The "new game", he said, is in looking both at the jobs that are likely to become redundant and the new roles being created, and then customising training for individuals.

This approach will help prepare those whose jobs might be endangered, enabling them to move fairly swiftly into a new role when the time comes, Mr Tharman added.

As a JDP, the IBF will also complement its pool of professional career coaches with senior financial services practitioners as adjunct coaches.

It also plans to hold more targeted career fairs that will bring the hiring and traineeship opportunities offered by various financial institutions onto a common platform.

The SBF will step up to its role by exploring opportunities for member companies to internationalise and engage in cross-border B2B e-commerce.

Together with the e2i, the federation will train individuals who can be deployed to support these companies' transformation efforts.

Both organisations will also advise companies on skills and talent available in the market and help facilitate the placement into the new roles.

Mr Tharman and Mr Tsien agreed that employees and employers must work together to future-proofing jobs.

The employees must embrace a mindset of learning new things, while the employers must facilitate the environment for change.

"That mindset change, coupled with the facilitation by the employer, I think, is the most important combination to make sure that the loss of jobs itself is not going to be a fearful factor. It is the skill that is required for the future job growth that is most relevant," said Mr Tsien.

Mr Tharman added: "Mindsets don't just shift on their own. Confidence doesn't spring up on its own. Partnerships help to develop new mindsets and help to breed confidence."

He urged top management and human resource professionals to look out for mid-career professionals and tap their past experiences. The HR profession and top management in companies should make it their core mission to help people grow, he said.

"It's about growing your people, not credentialism... And when you create that culture, people find it easier but it's also, I think, a more equitable culture where you are not being judged on your past. You're being judged on your willingness to learn," he said.