There is a pressing need for Singapore to build a ready, resilient and relevant financial sector workforce.
That topic was close to the heart of Labour Member of Parliament Patrick Tay, who decided to speak about it in Parliament on 29 February 2016 during a Motion for the Adjournment.
Mr Tay, who is also the co-chairperson of the Financial Sector Tripartite Committee, said the financial sector is a strong contributor to the country’s economic and productivity growth.
It is also a sector where Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) form the majority of the workforce.
Current Concerns and Trends
Mr Tay said that certain current trends and challenges facing the financial sector were of concern.
Recent announcements about layoffs, wage freezes and lackluster performance of global banking giants in the financial sector have fuelled global and local fears, uncertainties and doubts in the financial sector.
National retrenchment figures have also crept up in 2015 compared with 2014.
Mr Tay also added that NTUC has also been seeing more PMEs from the financial sector visit its U PME Centre to seek assistance since the last quarter of 2015.
Ready, Resilient and Relevant
With those factors playing up in the background, there is a need to stay ready, resilient and relevant (3R).
And this involves not just individuals and workers but the unions, employers, government, regulators and key stakeholders partnering in the journey.
“Building a 3R workforce requires beyond individual efforts to collective efforts by every individual and each of the tripartite partners.
“Workers and unions all agree that the financial sector landscape is changing rapidly. Many old jobs are gone and new jobs are being created. Workers in this sector need to stay proactive and positive,” emphasised Mr Tay.
Financial Sector Tripartite Committee
Moving forward, the recently formed Financial Sector Tripartite Committee has an important role to play.
Mr Tay said the Financial Sector Tripartite Committee will set up a Financial Industry Career Advisory Centre in April 2016, leveraging on the U PME Centre’s operational experiences and infrastructure at One Marina Boulevard.
This centre will provide guidance to those keen to join the financial industry as well as those looking to move to new jobs within the industry.
Singaporean Core
Replying to Mr Tay, National Development Minister and Monetary Authority of Singapore Board Member Lawrence Wong said that even as Singapore sees some retrenchment from certain banks, others continue to expand and hire.
“We will continue to work closely with the key financial institutions to build a strong core of Singaporean finance professionals, and uphold fair employment practices, particularly in the areas of hiring and talent recruitment, and in their appraisal processes,” said Mr Wong.
He added that Singaporean financial sector workers can also look forward to many more new programmes through SkillsFuture.
Source: NTUC This Week
