Speech by Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng at the DBS Live Fulfilled Festival 2026

Mr Lim Him Chuan, Country Head of DBS Singapore

Ms Winnie Lim, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore

Distinguished guests, and DBS colleagues joining us here and online

Opening

1. Good morning. It is a pleasure to join you at this year’s DBS Live Fulfilled Festival and to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DBS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), which will accelerate DBS’s ambitions for an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled workforce.

2. Let me start with two questions. Are we ready for what comes next? And what should we be doing about it? These questions matter more today than ever, as our workforce ages, global developments reshape trade and investment, and AI transforms professions and work.

3. This is why establishing Singapore as a leader in adapting and shaping a world disrupted by AI is now a national priority. It is also how we broaden the range of good jobs for Singaporeans. The financial sector is at the centre of these shifts, and we must adapt for Singapore to remain a leading financial centre.

4. The Government and our tripartite partners are committed to this. It will take commitment at every level — employers setting the strategy and building the right conditions, and employees taking ownership of their own careers.

5. Let me share some thoughts on how we must navigate this AI disruption and commend DBS for charting the way through this MOU by uplifting AI readiness, upskilling and reskilling employees, and building a pipeline of young talent for an AI-enabled financial sector.

Redesign jobs, not just automate tasks

6. First, real transformation comes from redesigning jobs, not just automating tasks. Many of you already use AI to automate routine tasks. This is a good start, but automation alone only captures a fraction of the value.

7. The bigger prize lies in redesigning the job itself — rethinking roles and upskilling and retraining our workers so they can take on higher-value work requiring creative problem-solving, interpersonal stakeholder management and complex judgement. Firms that do this well will see far greater productivity gains. This is what a growing body of economic literature tells us. Done right, AI adds to what our workers can do; it does not replace them. Ultimately, people are still needed to exercise judgement, provide the human touch and decide how AI can create better outcomes.

8. DBS has undertaken 12 Operating Model Transformations to redesign roles and reskill and redeploy employees into new career pathways. One example is DBS’s transformation of its Private Banking Assistant Relationship Manager role into the Client Enablement Partner role. By using AI to take over routine tasks, DBS employees like Angelina Wong can focus on client engagement, coordinating complex client needs and identifying new business opportunities. I applaud DBS for your efforts.

9. DBS has shown how it can be done and we want to support more businesses on this journey. The Government is supporting job redesign through the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. In March, we rolled out the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) to help companies redesign job roles and build internal capabilities. Later this year, the redesigned SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit will further help defray the costs of workforce transformation.

Make AI capability the new baseline skill

10. Second, AI capability must become baseline literacy for every worker, just as digital literacy was a generation ago. Although AI will change what many of us do, it will remain complementary to labour if we start investing in AI training today. No algorithm can replace judgement, empathy and human connection. There is a Chinese saying that captures this well: 穷则变，变则通，通则久— when circumstances change, those who adapt endure.

11. Through the MOU, we will see over 14,800 Singapore-based employees equipped with essential AI skills through DBS’s enterprise-wide AI training programmes accredited by IBF.

12. IBF accreditation matters because it makes AI skills portable and recognised throughout a worker’s career. The MOU also supports Career Conversion Programmes and industry-aligned pathways, helping workers to move into redesigned or adjacent roles in a rapidly changing work environment.

13. Consider Shahna’z Harris, a Customer Voice Analyst at DBS. Through continuous learning and upskilling, she has taken on broader responsibilities that strengthen customer experience, governance and service quality. Her experience reminds us that training is not just about doing the same job better, but about preparing employees for bigger roles.

14. The Government also supports you directly. As announced in Budget 2026, workers who take up selected SkillsFuture AI courses will receive six months of free access to premium AI tools. IBF will also expand its suite of AI courses contextualised for the financial sector to meet the upskilling needs of finance professionals.

Start young, build the talent pipeline early

15. Third, we must invest in tomorrow’s workforce today, starting with our youth. Our financial centre is only as strong as the next generation, and the stakes are higher now, given how AI may reshape entry-level roles.

16. We must not hold back on hiring and training. We must give our youth a strong start through early exposure to real work, which helps them apply what they have learned and prepares them for the labour market ahead.

17. I commend DBS for its longstanding commitment to investing early and consistently in grooming the next generation of talent. In 2026, DBS will welcome more than 500 young local talents through its Management Associate, Internship and Traineeship programmes. Since 2024, DBS has brought in about 1,600 young local talents through these programmes, creating a strong talent pipeline for Singapore. Carina from Group Technology and Fuo En from Institutional Banking Group Technology are examples of DBS’s investment in young local talent.

18. I am equally heartened that DBS is launching the new Career Advisory Service. DBS has trained over 100 employees as Career Advisors, complementing AI tools such as iGrow and iCoach that help employees explore opportunities, identify skills gaps and consider possible career pathways. As career decisions can be life-changing, timely human counsel remains essential and cannot be replaced by AI. By investing in the careers of its employees, DBS will continue to establish itself as an employer of choice.

19. To everyone here: treat your career like your health. Monitor it, invest in it regularly, and act early rather than waiting for a crisis. Make learning a habit, not an event.

Shape the future of work together

20. We can only achieve these outcomes by working together. Against the backdrop of a more complex labour market and more frequent disruptions, the Government has brought together career guidance, training and job-matching support under the recently established Skills and Workforce Development Agency to provide more integrated, seamless and proactive support to workers at every stage of their careers.

21. Employers like DBS give employees opportunities to learn, take on bigger roles and progress in their careers. Unions support workers through change and transition. Industry associations also play an important role by bringing firms together to address common challenges and advance industry-wide priorities. As the appointed Jobs Development Partner, IBF plays a particularly important role in the financial sector ecosystem. IBF works closely with financial institutions, training providers and the Government to identify emerging skills needs, support professional development and drive upskilling and reskilling efforts across the industry.

22. Today’s MOU shows what this partnership looks like in practice. If we get this right — enterprises adapting, workers learning, and partners working together — AI will power the next chapter of Singapore’s financial sector, with better jobs at its heart.

23. Once again, congratulations to DBS and IBF on this MOU. I wish everyone a meaningful learning journey at the DBS Live Fulfilled Festival and beyond.

Thank you.