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 Published Date: 06 July 2022

MAS and IBF adjust training scheme funding parameters amidst stepped up skills development support for Finance Sector

Singapore, 6 July 2022… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) today announced changes to provide more targeted support under the IBF training schemes. This follows earlier announcements to enhance funding for talent development programmes in growth and priority areas and to return subsidy rates under the IBF training schemes progressively to pre-pandemic levels . 

2 Over the past two years, the amount of funding support for financial sector training schemes has increased to about $140 million per annum, more than 10 times the amount pre-pandemic.  MAS and IBF ramped up specific talent development programmes to meet needs in growth and priority areas, as well as enhanced training course subsidies as a temporary measure to help financial services sector tide over the COVID-19 pandemic period. With the economy and financial sector transitioning to a post-pandemic era, MAS will adjust funding support allocated to the IBF-Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS) and Financial Training Scheme (FTS). The changes are -

  IBF-STS   (FTS)
From 3 October 2022 Funding of training programmes under the Critical Core Skills and Future-Enabled Skills categories will only be available to locals employed in the financial sector (i.e. by financial institutions or Singapore FinTech Association certified FinTech firms).   N.A.
From 1 January 2023 
  • Subsidies for locals attending accredited training programmes will be revised to 50% (from 70%).
  • Singapore Citizens aged 40 years and above will be eligible for 70% co-funding (from 90%).
  • The grant cap on these subsidies will be revised to S$3,000 (from S$7,000) per participant per programme.
  • Subsidies for locals attending recognised training programmes will be revised to 30% (from 50%).
  • Singapore Citizens aged 40 years and above remain eligible for 70% co-funding (from 90%).
  • The grant cap on these subsidies will be revised to S$500 (from S$2,000) per participant per programme.

3 These changes will better enable MAS to continue with increased funding support in growth and priority areas. In particular, MAS and IBF will continue to implement enhancements to specific talent development programmes such as:

  • Reskilling existing professionals to move into growth segments in the sector, with the support of Workforce Singapore (WSG), through Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs). The intake for the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme (TFIP) to develop tech professionals will be doubled and a new Wealth Management Accelerator Programme (WMAP) to develop wealth managers will be introduced. 
  • Supporting the grooming of entry-level talent in areas of growth, through the Finance Associate Management Scheme (FAMS). Funding for priority areas such as green finance, technology, digital and data analytics, and private banking and wealth management, was doubled in September 2021.
  • Enabling more Singaporeans to take on international, specialist and leadership roles, through enhancing the International Postings Programme (iPOST) to allow a wider spectrum of professionals, including younger and specialist talent, to be sent on overseas postings. Greater funding is also being provided for Asian postings to build up capabilities to serve the region. 

4 Overall, MAS expects training participation in the financial sector to remain robust, reflecting strong industry demand for re-skilling and upskilling. In 2021, more than 76,000 individuals benefited from training support and talent development programmes. Training participation remained strong in Q1 2022, with close to 25,000 individuals supported, despite training subsidy rates being progressively stepped down from 1 January 2022. This is a positive reflection that the training and upskilling culture in the financial sector workforce has taken root. 

5 Mr Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets & Development), MAS, said, “Re-skilling and upskilling our financial sector talent remains critical to building a future-ready workforce. The high uptake in training by our financial industry professionals is encouraging. We hope that this culture of upskilling will persist, as this allows our finance professionals to continue to support the growth and transformation of our financial sector in in-demand and emerging areas.”

6 Mr Ng Nam Sin, IBF Chief Executive Officer, said, “To ensure that our financial sector workforce is always relevant to changing industry demand, continuous upskilling and re-skilling is crucial. It is also the responsibility of finance professionals to take ownership of their own learning and development. We are glad to note that training participations have increased substantially over the last two years. IBF wants to build on this momentum to enhance our finance professionals’ employability through continuous upskilling and re-skilling.” 

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