Undergrads to get hands-on AI finance training; sector to offer over 1,000 internships, traineeships

[SINGAPORE] Undergraduates who want to apply artificial intelligence beyond the classroom can now work on real-world finance projects under a new three-month programme involving 20 financial institutions.

The Young Talent Programme for AI in Finance was launched by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) on Tuesday (May 19), with support from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

It is part of a broader push by MAS and IBF to expand talent pathways in the financial sector, including making available more than 1,000 internship and traineeship positions over the next year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, who was the guest of honour at Tuesday’s launch, said AI is transforming how companies operate and changing the nature of jobs.

Singapore’s financial sector contributes about 14 per cent of gross domestic product and employs around 200,000 professionals, more than 80 per cent of whom are locals.

Many of these are “good jobs” in areas such as analysis, complex problem-solving, risk management and client management, said Gan in his keynote address.

As new opportunities emerge, Singapore will help students and workers “acquire the relevant skills, gain industry exposure and build confidence” to seize them.

“We therefore want to explore more structured pathways that integrate industry exposure into formal studies,” said Gan. He added that the model could be extended to more institutions and firms over time, as well as to other emerging growth areas.

The Young Talent Programme will give students a foundation in the responsible use of AI, followed by an eight to 10-week applied learning component where they work on industry problem statements. They will then present their projects to participating financial institutions.

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Selected participants may also be offered internships, traineeships or full-time roles, depending on each firm’s hiring plans.

The programme is open to students from all disciplines entering their second to fourth year in the August term at Singapore’s six autonomous universities.

Participating firms include DBS, OCBC and UOB, as well as global lenders Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and more. Leading insurers and asset managers are also part of the pool.

Applications and the programme timeline will be published on IBF’s website, with selected participants notified by mid-July.

More pathways into finance

Separately, Gan said MAS and IBF are working with the industry to expand internships and traineeships for graduates, as entry-level roles become “more complex” and employers place greater emphasis on applied skills, adaptability and work readiness.

These opportunities are meant to provide structured training, exposure to leading financial institutions and a “meaningful stepping stone” to permanent employment.

One example he cited was the UBS Singapore University Programme for Employability and Readiness, or UBS-Super, which combines structured training, on-the-job experience and mentoring.

Through the programme, UBS plans to take in more than 30 university and polytechnic graduate trainees this year in areas such as global wealth management, investment banking, risk control and human resources.

After his speech, Gan witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between IBF, Nanyang Technological University, financial institutions and Singapore’s five polytechnics to explore possible work-study degree programmes for the financial services sector.

In a separate release on the same day, DBS said it will hire more than 500 “young local talents” in Singapore this year through its management associate, internship and traineeship programmes. This would bring the number of such employees brought in by the bank to nearly 1,600 between 2024 and 2026.

Lee Hwee Boon, OCBC’s head of group human resources, said the lender will welcome more than 500 university and polytechnic students across its internship programmes in 2026, with the number of internships “increasing year on year”.

At a fireside chat later with two undergraduate students and two young professionals in the finance sector, Gan urged the audience – mostly students – to stay adaptable, focused and eager to learn.

This means being “willing to try new things”, while avoiding frequent job-hopping that prevents one from developing “deep domain knowledge”, said Gan, in response to a question on what employers look for when hiring young talent.

He added that as young workers build resilience and technical skills – including through receiving mentorship at work – they should also “be generous” in mentoring younger colleagues and school cohorts.

“I will encourage you to be generous in your mentorship, even as you receive mentorship from your seniors,” he said. “This way, when we can grow together, we can succeed together, and we can build a ‘we-first’ society.”