DBS Reskills 11,000 Staff as AI Reshapes Banking Jobs

DBS Reskills 11,000 Staff as AI Reshapes Banking Jobs

DBS has already upskilled more than 11,000 employees whose roles are being significantly reshaped by artificial intelligence. Now, Singapore’s largest bank is stepping up its workforce transformation – while making a notable pledge: «save people, not jobs.»

DBS is deepening its efforts to prepare employees for the impact of artificial intelligence, signing an industry-first agreement with the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) to jointly develop AI skills and help workers transition into redesigned roles.

The Memorandum of Understanding is the first of its kind between IBF and a financial institution and covers three areas: building foundational AI capabilities, reskilling employees whose roles are changing and strengthening the pipeline of young talent entering Singapore’s financial industry.

DBS has already equipped all 40,000 employees globally, including 14,800 in Singapore, with foundational AI skills. More than 11,000 employees working in roles significantly reshaped by AI have also undergone upskilling.

«Save people, not jobs»

The initiative comes as banks globally grapple with the implications of generative AI for their workforces. DBS is positioning the technology primarily as a means of augmenting employees rather than simply replacing them.

«We see AI as a cognitive enhancer – augmenting what people can do by automating the mundane, taking away repetitive and administrative tasks,» said Lee Yan Hong, Head of Group Human Resources at DBS.

By freeing employees from such tasks, AI should create more capacity for higher-order skills including critical thinking, problem solving and relationship building, she added.

DBS’ approach to the transformation is encapsulated in a particularly pointed principle.

«Our philosophy has always been to save people, not jobs,» Lee said. «Jobs will change and tasks will evolve, but we are determined to bring everyone along our workforce transformation.»

The bank’s ambition, according to Lee, is to become an «AI-enabled bank with a heart», with humans remaining in the lead as work evolves.

AI governance and prompt engineering

Under the partnership, DBS and IBF will equip employees with foundational competencies including AI governance, responsible AI, prompt engineering and practical applications of the technology.

The two organizations will also test workforce interventions aimed at employees whose jobs are being reshaped by AI. This will draw on IBF’s Job Redesign and Reskilling Career Conversion Programme as well as DBS’ experience with its existing workforce transformation.

The partnership extends beyond the bank itself. DBS and IBF intend to jointly develop programs that can build AI capabilities across Singapore’s broader financial services industry.

Carolyn Neo, CEO of IBF, described DBS as a «lighthouse financial institution» in showing how employees can be supported alongside the adoption of AI.

Human advisors for an AI-driven workplace

At the same time, DBS is adding a distinctly human component to its technology-driven workforce strategy.

The bank has launched a Career Advisory Service with an initial pool of more than 100 career advisors drawn from within DBS. The service will initially be available to employees across the bank’s six core markets.

It combines human career guidance with two of DBS’ existing AI-powered tools. iGrow, launched in 2022, uses AI and machine learning to recommend learning opportunities and potential jobs based on an employee’s skills, career aspirations and learning history.

iCoach, introduced in 2025 in collaboration with executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, uses generative AI to provide personalized coaching and career guidance.

Building the next generation

DBS and IBF are also targeting younger workers as the skills required by the financial industry change.

Their collaboration includes IBF’s Young Talent Programme for AI in Finance, in which DBS is a pioneer partner. The bank has committed to taking in more than 500 young local talents in 2026 through its Management Associate, Internship and Traineeship programs.

The initiative effectively turns DBS’ own experience with AI-driven workforce transformation into a potential blueprint for Singapore’s wider financial sector – at a time when banks are increasingly having to determine not only where AI can boost productivity, but what that means for the people currently doing the work.

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