DBS to hire more than 2,000 people in Singapore despite Covid-19 economic slowdown
DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said that while the bank was prudent in its outlook, it recognised itself as a key employer in Singapore.
SINGAPORE — DBS Bank on Thursday (May 14) pledged to hire more than 2,000 people in Singapore this year despite the economy being hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Southeast Asia’s largest lender said that more than 1,000 of these roles are apprenticeships for fresh graduates and more specialised jobs for seasoned professionals.
DBS had reassured its 12,000-strong Singapore workforce last month that there would be no job cuts.
All employees remain on full pay, including those working at its branches who cannot perform their duties because of temporary branch closures. Those facing lulls in work activity have also been encouraged to upskill themselves via the bank’s online learning programme.
DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said that while the bank was prudent in its outlook, it recognised itself as a key employer in Singapore.
“It seemed right to us to not just continue with hiring for business-as-usual activities, but also to actively create new jobs where we can, so as to help more people tide through this difficult period,” he said.
“In particular, we want to do our part to avoid having a ‘lost’ generation of young graduates in Singapore whose career prospects are jeopardised because they are unable to find jobs due to the pandemic.”
DBS bucks the general trend as other firms scramble to cut manpower costs and stay afloat during the coronavirus outbreak. Companies including Singapore Airlines and SingPost have announced sweeping cost-cutting measures, such as hiring freezes and pay cuts for executives.
THE ROLES AVAILABLE
About a third of the new roles being created at DBS — or more than 360 jobs — are for seasoned professionals in technology growth areas.
For instance, more than 300 of these jobs are in user experience and interface, data science, fraud detection compliance, as well as consumer and institutional banking technology.
In addition, the bank is looking to train and hire more than 60 people in the areas of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, full stack development (the development of both the front and back ends of an application) and data analytics.
The bank will also hire more than 700 young people on six- to 12-month apprenticeships as well as through specialised programmes, such as its graduate associate schemes that groom fresh graduates for leadership positions.
Five hundred apprenticeships will be offered to those who recently graduated or are graduating from universities, polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education and other private educational institutions, as part of the national SGUnited Traineeships Programme that the Government announced in March.
The S$100 million programme hopes to eventually offer up to 8,000 traineeship opportunities across a range of industries this year for first-time jobseekers. These stints will allow them to develop skills and build professional networks, and thereby boost their employability when the economy rebounds and hiring demand returns.
DBS said that its apprenticeships could lead to permanent jobs.
The bank added that it would continue to run its internship programmes to nurture future banking professionals. It expects to offer more than 400 internships this year.
As for other roles in the bank, DBS said it would continue to recruit “judiciously” and expects to make about 1,000 such hires in Singapore this year.
Since February, the bank has hired nearly 500 people for roles in the areas of client advisory, data, digital, technology as well as risk and control.
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