Over 1,000 trainees enrolled in Technology in Finance Immersion Programme since 2019

MORE than 1,000 trainees have been enrolled in the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (TFIP) since the initiative to expand Singapore’s technology talent pool was launched in 2019, the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) said on Thursday (Oct 19).

IBF chief executive Ng Nam Sin said that on average, more than 70 per cent of trainees – whose ages range from mid-20s to 50s – have been emplaced in related tech roles, with over half in deep tech areas.

“The outcome is noteworthy,” said Ng, who was speaking at the IBF’s Distinction Evening 2023. “We had a TFIP trainee who was working as a video editor. She was eventually emplaced as an application developer in her hosting financial institution.”

The TFIP is an industry attach-and-train career conversion programme that aims to build capabilities in key technology areas to meet the talent needs of the financial sector. Successful applicants are offered a traineeship by IBF and a hosting financial institution, with a monthly training allowance of between S$4,500 and S$5,500.

The IBF was also keen to know the outcome for older workers, who are “often unfairly stereotyped as harder to reskill and more resistant to change”, Ng added. “Our TFIP experience suggested otherwise.”

Around 16 per cent of TFIP candidates were mature trainees aged 40 and above, and of these, 57 per cent were successfully emplaced.

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Apart from the TFIP, Ng also noted that IBF’s Future Skills Accelerator (FSA), which was launched last year, has also seen keen interest. Some 17 financial institutions have been or are in the process of being onboarded on the FSA.

“Powered by AI, the FSA can help financial institutions in strategic workforce planning, skills acquisition, internal job mobility and talent acquisition,” Ng said. “We are exploring new features, including Career Resiliency Index and Skills Inventory, which will equip individuals with the tools to assess their job readiness and skills needed to future-proof their careers.”