Singapore enlists 23 financial institutions to train 80,000 workers in AI skills by 2028
Singapore enlists 23 financial institutions to train 80,000 workers in AI skills by 2028 #
Singapore’s financial sector has launched a programme to train more than 80,000 employees in artificial intelligence skills by 2028, with 23 institutions signed on as founding members.
The programme, called the IBF AI Workforce Co-Lab, was unveiled on September 24 by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who also serves as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Institute of Banking and Finance’s annual Distinction Evening. The participating institutions, which include 13 banks, six insurers, and four asset managers, span Singapore’s three largest lenders, DBS, OCBC and UOB, along with major insurers AIA Singapore and Prudential.
IBF chief executive Carolyn Neo said the founding members collectively employ around 40 per cent of Singapore’s financial services workforce, a sector of approximately 200,000 professionals that contributes roughly 14 per cent of the city-state’s GDP.
The Co-Lab’s scope extends beyond basic upskilling. It is tasked with assessing how AI is reshaping specific job functions, testing training approaches in live work environments, and redesigning roles as AI capabilities evolve. Priority areas include AI governance leadership, wealth management, and back-office operational roles, with attention to how AI affects financial advisory services and performance oversight.
More than half of the targeted 80,000 employees have already completed IBF-recognised training, the government said. The Co-Lab builds on Singapore’s earlier PathFin.ai programme, launched in 2025, which established a baseline of AI literacy across the sector. DBS separately signed a memorandum of understanding with IBF to share training frameworks developed across its global workforce.
At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Gan said institutions must plan for their people at the same time as they plan for AI adoption, and called on additional financial institutions to join the Co-Lab. He pointed to functions already affected by AI, including fraud detection, credit underwriting, customer service, and market analysis.
Five additional workforce transformation initiatives were introduced alongside the Co-Lab.
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