Singapore's financial sector is betting that AI won't replace workers, but will reshape their roles, and it's backing that belief with a coordinated retraining effort across 23 major institutions. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong announced the IBF AI Workforce Co-Lab on September 24, 2026, a partnership designed to help banks, insurers, and asset managers prepare employees for an AI-integrated workplace. The 23 pioneer institutions have committed to train their entire Singapore workforce, totaling over 80,000 employees, in critical AI skills by 2028 through recognized training programs.

Why Are Banks Suddenly Investing So Heavily in Worker Retraining?

The financial industry recognizes that AI adoption creates a paradox: the technology can automate routine tasks, but it also demands a workforce that understands how to work alongside AI systems responsibly. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement threat, Singapore's approach frames it as an opportunity to elevate employee roles and productivity. The government and industry partners are treating workforce development as inseparable from technology adoption, not an afterthought.

This strategy reflects lessons learned from sustainable finance initiatives. Since 2024, when Singapore launched its Sustainable Finance Jobs Transformation Map, professionals from over 200 financial institutions completed more than 21,000 training courses in sustainable finance across nearly 220 IBF-recognized programs. That success provided a template for scaling AI training across the sector.

How Are Banks Redesigning Jobs to Work With AI?

The Co-Lab is launching three specialized pathways that show how different roles are evolving in an AI-enabled environment:

• Co-Lab@Leaders: Equips senior management to identify valuable AI applications, establish governance frameworks, and lead workforce transformation by anticipating which jobs will change and where new opportunities will emerge.
• Co-Lab@Wealth Managers: Helps relationship managers use AI tools to analyze client information faster, freeing time for deeper advisory conversations and personalized guidance while maintaining responsibility for the advice they provide.
• Co-Lab@Operations: Redesigns operational roles so staff develop capabilities in process improvement, exception handling, risk oversight, and validating AI outputs rather than performing routine tasks.

The Co-Lab@Wealth Managers pathway is particularly significant for Singapore's financial ambitions. Rising demand for wealth management across Asia creates opportunities for the city-state, and AI can enhance rather than replace relationship managers. Ten private banking employers have committed to upskilling their relationship managers through practical courses that combine AI skills with client engagement and advisory expertise.

What Do Real Examples of AI-Transformed Roles Look Like?

The initiative includes concrete examples of how roles are evolving. At UBS, a client advisor with over 20 years of experience now uses AI tools to enhance preparation for client meetings, analyze portfolios, and conduct due diligence. This gives her more time to understand clients' needs and provide trusted advice, while she remains responsible for the guidance she offers, not the AI tools themselves.

At DBS, a customer service leader now oversees both his frontline team and the bank's AI customer chatbot. AI helps his team generate call summaries and recommend follow-up actions within seconds, while he reviews the chatbot's responses and identifies improvements. His customer experience background proves valuable in this expanded role, ensuring customers continue receiving quality service as AI handles routine tasks.

"The professionalism of our people, and the trust they build with clients, are central to our success as a financial centre. The emergence of AI makes investing in people even more important," stated Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry.

Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore

How Is Singapore Coordinating This Massive Retraining Effort?

The government is enhancing a tripartite partnership between the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), the NTUC Financial and Professional Services Cluster of Unions, and seven industry associations spanning banking, insurance, asset management, securities, financial advisory, and fintech firms. Together, these associations represent over 800 financial institutions and fintech firms, accounting for more than 70 percent of the sector's workforce.

The enhanced partnership will focus on wider industry outreach, greater access to training and career support, and developing programs tailored to the needs of each sub-sector. This coordinated approach signals that Singapore views AI workforce adaptation as a national priority requiring government, employer, and union collaboration rather than individual institutional efforts.

To date, more than half of the 80,000 employees at the 23 pioneer institutions have already completed critical AI skills training. This progress suggests that financial institutions are moving beyond pilot projects and integrating AI training into standard employee development, a shift that could reshape how the sector prepares workers for technological change.

The initiative also reflects a broader recognition that AI is already changing financial operations across multiple functions. AI is being deployed in customer service, financial advisory, credit underwriting, fraud detection, market analysis, and software development. Some larger institutions are integrating AI across functions, while fintech firms have been built around AI from the outset. By preparing workers now, Singapore aims to ensure that AI translates into better careers for employees and a more productive workforce rather than job displacement.