‘We will not stop hiring’: UOB CEO on plans to recruit 1,000 graduates as AI reshapes entry-level work

[SINGAPORE] UOB plans to recruit 1,000 young graduates over a year and expand its gig employment programme to include customer-facing and sales advisory roles, the bank announced on Thursday (Oct 8).

Speaking at the Better U Festival 2026, the eighth edition of the bank’s annual employee event, UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong noted that artificial intelligence can perform many routine tasks currently done by entry-level employees and fresh graduates.

“(But) we will not stop hiring,” said Wee to the audience, which included many of the bank’s younger employees. “I think all of you need opportunities to gain experience, build expertise and develop your own careers.”

He said the bank is committed to investing in the next generation and building the workforce UOB will need in the years ahead.

It will do so by recruiting a total of 1,000 young graduates in Singapore until October next year for roles in personal financial services and anti-money laundering, as well as through its management associate and internship programmes and its Future Bankers Programme.

The latter is a 24-month structured development programme that provides fresh graduates with training before they develop customer-facing and wealth advisory skills.

Flexible career pathways

Under its enhanced Gig+U programme, UOB will introduce customer-facing and sales advisory roles, as well as a monthly S$500 retainer for participants in select roles that require certification, alongside existing insurance coverage and payment for work undertaken.

The enhanced programme, expected to be rolled out by the first quarter of 2027, will be open to UOB employees and external hires. The bank expects to form a pool of 200 participants, who will receive assignments based on business needs.

Participants will undergo relevant training and maintain the necessary certifications or licences to qualify for suitable assignments.

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Wee said many of the bank’s experienced employees have built deep customer relationships and valuable institutional knowledge over the years.

The enhanced programme, he said, will give them greater flexibility to continue contributing and sharing their experience with younger colleagues.

Gig+U, first introduced in 2021, enables experienced UOB employees such as those approaching or beyond retirement age, mothers returning to the workforce, and those seeking flexible work options, to contribute their expertise through part-time, flexible or fixed-term opportunities.

Existing assignments under the programme are mainly in operational and customer support functions, the bank said.

Developing leaders

Even as AI reshapes the workplace, Wee said that “leadership remains fundamentally human”.

The bank’s leaders must help teams adapt, build new capabilities and realise the benefits of AI, while exercising “sound judgment on how technology is used”, he said.

To that end, UOB launched its Better Leader Programme to equip 5,500 managers across the region with the skills to lead effectively and build high-performing teams in an AI-enabled workplace by end-2027.

Accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance, the programme will use an AI-enabled coaching and role-play platform customised to the bank’s leadership competencies and programme content.

Managers will practise workplace conversations involving career feedback, performance management, delegation, stakeholder engagement and career development. 

They will receive personalised qualitative feedback and indicative scores based on UOB’s leadership competency framework immediately after completing their assessments.

UOB’s head of group human resources Dean Tong said the future of work is not simply about adopting new technologies. 

“It must come together with helping our people develop the capabilities that technology cannot replicate, such as judgment, empathy, resilience, leadership and the ability to build trust.”