Over 8,000 Standard Chartered employees in Singapore have been trained in futureproof skills

This is through its 'diSCover' portal which includes courses in specialist areas, such as cyber, sustainability, and sustainable finance.

Standard Chartered is hoping to accelerate the future readiness of its workforce through a growing suite of training and upskilling programmes to prepare for opportunities in key growth areas such as sustainable finance, cybersecurity and cloud engineering.

The programmes will be delivered via 'aXess academy', its global learning hub anchored in Singapore, and 'diSCover', its self-led learning portal. With these tools, Standard Chartered is aiming to build a future-proof talent pool through a blended learning programme.

diSCover, the group’s global one-stop shop platform for digital learning, offers over 400 courses in specialist areas, such as cyber, sustainability and sustainable finance, data & analytics, leadership and new ways of working. With user-friendly, accessibility-enabled and innovative training modules, the platform has seen strong adoption.

diSCover Lab, its interactive learning hub in Singapore, provides employees access to multiple modes of learning and digital content. To date, over 8,000 of the Standard Chartered’s Singapore-based employees have successfully completed programmes on this portal.

The bank's global learning centre, the aXess Academy, has also been launched in Singapore to develop tech talent through reskilling and upskilling programmes. It offers employees both virtual and in-person classroom-style training, in fields such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital banking, cyber-information security and data solutions. Cloud, API, Data and Python have been some of the the most popular courses.

Together with diSCover Lab, the academy is housed in the Bank’s Changi Business Park 1 premises, where an investment of S$26mn was made to refresh the space to better support the future ways of learning and working. 

Creating pathways for new and mid-career professionals into finance

Contributing to the development of talent pipeline into banking, Standard Chartered offers early to mid-careerists and silver hires the opportunity to reskill, transform skillsets, and benefit from on-the-job training.

Over 4,000 employees were groomed in the last three years, plugging their learning and developmental competencies through internal initiatives and partnerships with government agencies and industry players. These include the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme by the Institute of Banking and Finance, SG United Traineeship Programme, SG United Professional Programme, and Work Study Programme (WSP), alongside the group's in-house Workforce Transformation and Skillsfuture@SC programmes.

Notably, the WSP has drawn strong interest, as students are able to gain work experiences and skills while having the flexibility to complete their studies concurrently through a modified work schedule. In partnership with the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, the Singapore Institute of Technology and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, the WSP has helped ease the transition from school to the workplace.

Building on the success of the programme, Standard Chartered increased its investment into the WSP fivefold in 2022, with the participation rate tripling year-on-year.

Patrick Lee, Cluster CEO, Singapore and ASEAN Markets, Standard Chartered Bank, commented: “Singapore is an important strategic market for the bank, with our global businesses, operations, technology, innovation and learning hubs all headquartered here.

"Developing a differentiated and transformed workforce to digitalise, innovate and futureproof banking is key, and we continue to invest in recruiting, upskilling and reskilling initiatives to build future-ready competencies in the financial services industry. Preparing our people for the future will help us play a role in contributing to the Financial Services Industry Transformation Map 2025.”

Photo / Provided by Standard Chartered

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