Standard Chartered invests S$5mn in developing its Singapore workforce

Standard Chartered has announced that it will invest S$5mn to boost talent development and reskilling to support ongoing plans to grow the business and accelerate digitalisation.

According to a media release, with this new investment, the Bank is strengthening its commitment to support its growth plans and upskilling its employees so they remain future-ready. 

The investment will go into strengthening the Bank's various learning and talent development initiatives, including: 

Nurturing a diverse pipeline of future leaders

A key pillar in the Bank’s commitment to talent development is nurturing a diverse pipeline of future leaders. This year, the Bank will provide close to 350 traineeship and career opportunities, giving jobseekers an early head start.

At the same time, Standard Chartered will continue to participate in industry initiatives such as the SGUnited Traineeships Programme, SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme and the Finance Associate Management Scheme (also known as the International Graduates Programme in the Bank).

Through the Finance Associate Management Scheme, young bankers will benefit from an immersive programme, technical skills development, the exposure to senior leaders and the opportunity for international assignments, leveraging the Bank’s international network of 59 countries.

Preparing employees for the future through upskilling

The Bank also plans to intensify its SkillsFuture@SC programme (launched in 2016) to help its employees prepare for the future by up-skilling them over three years (2020 to 2022).

Since the programme started, 20% of employees who participated have upgraded their professional skills and have been successfully redeployed to roles such as Digital Banking, Risk, Compliance and Relationship Management.

Re-skilling and re-deploying employees based on their interests

At Standard Chartered, training is customised based on the employees’ interests, stage of their career and in line with industry transformation needs. Employees can tap on various industry re-skilling and re-deployment programmes to upgrade their skill sets or take on a different role.

For instance, Standard Chartered was one of the first financial institutions to embark on the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). In addition to hiring mid-careerists, the Bank had also tapped on the programme to reskill more than 80 employees into new or enhanced job roles within the organisation.

Moving forward, the Bank plans to continue adopting the PCP to reskill more than 200 employees into new or enhanced job roles as they contribute to the growth of the Bank.

Additionally, the Bank also welcomes the older workforce who is willing to re-gear themselves to adapt to a new environment and learn new disciplines. 

Enabling continuous learning at the Bank

To facilitate continuous learning within the Bank, in addition to virtual classroom trainings and elearnings, the Bank has also recently enhanced its interactive ‘diSCover’ learning platform for employees to access bite-sized modules from a myriad of topics, from blockchain to data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), leadership and personal development.

Patrick Lee, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited said, “Standard Chartered has a long history and commitment to Singapore having invested substantially and established our global business, technology, operations and innovation hubs here. We are also the first and only major international bank to incorporate all our businesses here. The success of the Bank heavily depends on the resilience of our people. This is why we need to stay on the front foot of the changing environment and the needs of our clients, to ensure our employees stay relevant, competitive and future ready It’s very meaningful to be able to partner someone from the start and see one grow throughout his/her professional journey. This is where we differentiate as the new joiners and our existing employees stand to benefit from the strength of Standard Chartered’s diversity and network to access equal opportunities, gain international exposure and build longstanding connections.”

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