Sheng Siong Group rewards staff with an additional month of salary

The Sheng Siong Group will be rewarding its staff for their hard work with an additional month of salary.

Lim Hock Chee, the Group’s CEO announced in the first quarter business update that the Group has performed exceptionally well in 1Q2020. Net profit increased by 49.9% to S$29.0m.

In the announcement, Lim thanked staff and suppliers who have worked hard during the periods of elevated demand caused by COVID-19.

“The staff have gone beyond their call of duty and I wish to reward them (excluding directors) with an additional month of salary,” he said.

He added: “I do not know when COVID-19 will be over or when the economic situation in Singapore or worldwide would normalise. When that happens, I expect our revenue to taper off from the current elevated levels as buffer stocks kept by households are consumed. In the meanwhile, we will continue to hold a higher than normal level of inventory to hedge against potential disruption to the supply chain.”

Lim closed off the announcement by reiterating that the safety of staff, the Group’s customers and other stakeholders are of paramount importance. He assured that the Group will continue to maintain a high standard of hygiene and comply with the directives given by the Ministry of Health.

New programme to help Singapore’s PMETs kickstart a technology career in financial services

The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) have launched the second intake of the “Technology in Finance Immersion Programme” (TFIP) to help mid-career professionals kickstart a technology career in the Financial Services sector.

According to a media release, this new programme will complement the existing Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) under WSG’s Adapt and Grow initiative and will equip individuals with skills and experience for deep tech growth jobs through structured training and attachment with leading financial institutions.

The programme supports the TechSkills Accelerator initiative and aims to prepare mid-career switchers undergo skills conversions and move into occupations in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Full Stack Development.

This is to help cater to Financial Institutions’ growing demand for technology professionals and address the need to develop local expertise in these areas within the Financial Services sector.

Tan Choon Shian, Chief Executive of WSG, said: “With the extension of the TFIP, this provides an avenue for Singaporeans to embark on new careers involving technology in the Financial Services sector. Given the increased adoption of new technologies, the skills gained through this programme will be highly transferable and will help improve their longer-term career prospects.”

This second intake follows a successful pilot launched last April, with 70 individuals currently undergoing on-the-job training across four tracks – Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Full Stack Development.

This year, the programme will be expanded to include an additional track in Artificial Intelligence and training places will be doubled to 140. A total of 13 financial institutions have pledged their commitment to this year’s programme from 10 in 2019.

Participating organisations include major banks – such as DBS Bank, Citibank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), and United Overseas Bank; insurance providers such as AIA Singapore; as well as investment management firms like Goldman Sachs Services (Singapore).

Theresa Phua, Singapore Head of Human Resources, DBS Bank said “As one of the pioneer participating banks when the TFIP was launched in 2019, we are training 19 individuals in areas such as Full Stack Development, Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity.

“We firmly believe that digital is the way forward for the industry, and this is mirrored in DBS’ own digital transformation journey which started over six years ago. We look forward to our continued partnership with IBF in 2020 on the TFIP, and to future-proofing our workforce.”

Ng Nam Sin, Chief Executive Officer of IBF, said: “Notwithstanding the current climate, it is heartening to see that our financial institution partners remain focused on building human capital in these growing technology job roles for the medium term. Successful applicants will be able to gain in-demand skills and experience through TFIP and be well equipped for such jobs within and outside the Financial Services sector.”

Photo / 123RF

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