DBS on Monday ( August 24 ) signed a memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) with the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore ( IBF ) to establish three areas of collaboration to upskill DBS employees and the wider financial services workforce in the AI era.
The two organizations will equip employees with foundational AI competencies through IBF-recognized programmes, including AI governance, responsible AI, prompt engineering and practical AI applications. Drawing on its experience equipping all 40,000 employees globally – including 14,800 in Singapore – with foundational AI skills, DBS will co-develop industry-relevant programmes with IBF that build future-ready capabilities across the sector.
DBS and IBF will also jointly test-bed and shape workforce interventions to help employees adapt to roles reshaped by AI. Leveraging IBF's Job Redesign and Reskilling Career Conversion Programme and DBS' experience upskilling over 11,000 employees in roles significantly reshaped by AI, the initiative will equip employees with new skills needed to take on redesigned jobs and new ways of working.
The organizations will also collaborate on strengthening Singapore's pipeline of young talent for the financial sector. This includes providing students with applied exposure to AI in finance through initiatives such as IBF's Young Talent Programme for AI in Finance, of which DBS is a pioneer partner. DBS has also committed to welcoming more than 500 local young talent in 2026 across its management associate, internship and traineeship programmes.
Additionally, as AI reshapes work and career pathways, DBS has launched a Career Advisory Service to provide employees with trusted, human-led guidance to navigate change with confidence. This combines the bank’s AI-powered career development tools, such as iGrow and iCoach, with the human touch to deliver personalized insights which help employees recognize their strengths, explore new possibilities and translate their aspirations into career plans.
DBS has an initial cadre of more than 100 career advisers from within the bank and with the service made available to all employees.
Lee Yan Hong, head of group human resources at DBS, says: “We see AI as a cognitive enhancer – augmenting what people can do by automating the mundane, taking away repetitive and administrative tasks, summarizing and synthetizing large amount of data at speed.
“By removing the toil, AI creates capacity, giving people back time and energy to apply higher order skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and relationship building, so they can solve more complex problems, make better decisions and deliver greater value.”
IBF chief executive officer Carolyn Neo adds: “This comprehensive MOU with DBS puts people at the heart of AI transformation, spanning uplifting essential AI skills, upskilling for new or redesigned roles, and upbuilding the young talent pipeline. IBF and DBS will continue to testbed and co-develop workforce interventions to build a skilled and future-ready workforce in an evolving AI-enabled world.”
