FROM the fourth quarter of 2024, up to 500 UOB employees in operations and administrative roles will be selected over the next two years to participate in the bank’s new career conversion programme.
The initiative, known as the Better U Pivot Programme, was announced on Friday (Oct 11) at the sixth edition of the lender’s annual employee festival. It is part of the bank’s job transformation and upskilling efforts.
Participants will undergo a 12-month programme to pick up skills for their new roles, which will be in growth areas that have been identified by the bank. The domains include risk and compliance, sales and customer experience.
The candidates will also be mentored by selected coaches and hiring managers.
A UOB spokesperson told The Business Times that the initiative aims to identify employees with the potential to move into areas with greater demand. It will feature on-the-job training and a curriculum designed with Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Partners for the Better U Pivot Programme include the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Institute for Adult Learning and the Institute of Banking and Finance, among others.
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Speaking at the event, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said that “business transformation must go hand-in-hand with workforce transformation”.
This comes as technology and artificial intelligence (AI) change the finance sector, he added, citing the introduction of virtual assistants and chatbots in customer service and advisory roles.
The Better U Pivot Programme was piloted in 2021 with four participants. All of them have successfully transferred into their new roles, with one having been promoted since taking on the new position.
Sherlyn Yong, one of the participants in the initiative’s pilot, assumed her new role as an anti-financial crime operations analyst in late 2021, after working as a customer service associate for six years.
Speeding up development
At the festival, UOB also launched the Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics Centre of Excellence (Aida COE), a tie-up between the bank, the Infocomm Media Development Authority and NUS.
The joint venture is part of UOB’s employee upskilling and reskilling programme, and aims to speed up the development of professionals with AI and data analytics skills for the finance sector.
It plans to take in 100 university graduates over the next three years, and will start accepting applications from Q4 2024.
The two-year programme will enable participants to take part in AI- and data-related business projects, courses by UOB’s data management office, as well as targeted training across the bank’s different units.
Aida COE participants will be employed full-time by the bank. Upon completing the programme, they will receive a certificate which can be credited towards a Master of Technology in Enterprise Business Analytics with NUS.
UOB deputy chairman and chief executive officer Wee Ee Cheong said that the bank was prepared to invest in its workforce, but required commitment from all stakeholders.
“Much has been said about reskilling. Conceptually, it sounds good. But there are practical challenges,” he added.
“Employees need to juggle existing workloads, face external demands and adapt to unfamiliar roles. Managers also need to remain open-minded, especially when candidates do not perfectly fit at first.”
The Aida COE, which is aligned with Singapore’s AI strategy, serves as a road map for other financial institutions to adopt, the bank added.
