Banking and Finance Jobs: What Does It Take to Get Into the Sector?

As with all industries, there are pros and cons to joining banking and financial services.

In times of recessions and inflation, big bank shareholders will want their chief executives to keep a handle on costs and preserve capital, which means hiring slowdowns and retrenchments.

On the other hand, once the economic outlook becomes more settled and marketplace confidence returns, the industry tends to bounce back strongly, along with its hiring, salary, and rewards structure.

Ultimately, as Goldman chief executive David Solomon said: the industry, like his company, “will pay people based on the overall performance of the firm.”

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The big picture for Singapore’s banking and financial services industry

Thankfully for Singaporean jobseekers and mid-careerists, the sector looks likely to do well in the medium and long term.

Firstly, there has been a shift in regional hiring, with international banks looking to hire more talent in Singapore, with a shift away from Hong Kong according to market reports.

One such report quoted a headhunter based in Hong Kong saying: “Every bank I speak to is looking to increase their footprint in Southeast Asia, and that means hiring or locating more bankers in Singapore.”

“In the past, big banks have located specific country or product bankers in Singapore, while locating industry teams in Hong Kong. This is changing.”

Secondly, the Singapore government has also been reacting quickly to marketplace dynamics, with a recently updated industry transformation map (ITM) aiming to create 3,000 to 4,000 new jobs annually and achieve an average growth of 4-5% annually from now till 2025.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Finance Minister Lawrence Wong shared: “Amidst all this (referring to the Covid-19 pandemic and digital disruption), Asia remains a region with high growth potential in the global economy, and we should contribute to its growth.

“As such, we are updating the ITM: looking at ways to seize new opportunities while staying resilient against emerging risks; and updating our plans, strategies and targets for the next five years.”

“This will help nurture more Singaporean specialists and leaders in finance and ensure that Singaporeans are able to take up good jobs that the financial sector will continue to generate in the years to come.”

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Which jobs are hot in the Singapore banking and finance sector now?

As part of that agenda, there are also initiatives to help those looking to make mid-career moves into the industry available, particularly for roles to meet key technology areas in the sector.

Workforce Singapore (WSG) launched career conversion programmes (CCP) that provide mid-careerists opportunities to attend industry-curated structured training, follow by attachments with leading financial institutions to gain on-the-job experience to pivot into a career in technology within the financial services sector.

Some technology areas include:

Agile IT Project Management
Artificial Intelligence
Business Analysis
Cloud Computing
Cybersecurity
Data Analytics
Software Engineering
Technology, Information and Cybersecurity Risk

It’s not just tech roles available in the industry, of course. Associate Professor Angie Low, from NTU, Nanyang Business School’s Division of Banking and Finance also shared with Workipedia by MyCareersFuture how the sector will need workers with business intuition and an understanding of how technology works and how programming languages work in tandem.

“Such workers can act as the bridge between end consumers and the tech folks”, she shared. “This need in the financial services industry has been recognised for some time, and the business schools in Singapore, such as Nanyang Business School, have been equipping students with relevant tech skills.”

Such roles include:

Bank Tellers
Accountants
Financial Analysts
Relationship Managers
Financial Controllers
Mortgage Consultants
Compliance Officers
Asset Managers

Getting excited about joining the industry? Read on for more insights and information on how you can join Singapore’s banking and financial services industry, and what to look forward to below.