The Zurich-listed lender moves into the second year of a programme in Singapore designed to raise awareness of financial services careers.

Following from a programme launch in 2015, UBS has teamed up with Singapore’s Government of Singapore Corporation, or GIC, and other organisations to spread the word about the benefits of a financial services career to students.

The world’s largest wealth management firm worked with GIC, the Institute of Banking and Finance, and Bloomberg, to provide an overview of the financial world, following on from its inaugural UBS Youth Finance Academy held last year in Singapore. 

The UBS Youth Finance Academy programme is aimed at pre-tertiary students. It mainly aims to increase awareness and develop skills around what it takes to work within the financial industry. 

The programme introduces people to how the financial industry works through interactive sessions. 

Participating schools for this year’s programme include Anglo-Chinese Junior College, Anglo-Chinese Independent School, Catholic Junior College, Dunman High School, Hwa Chong Institution, Innova Junior College, ITE College Central, ITE College East, Nanyang Junior College, National Junior College, NUS High School of Math & Science, Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Raffles Institution, Republic Polytechnic, St Andrew's Junior College, St Joseph's Institution International School, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Victoria Junior College.

The programme has been launched at a time when talent shortages in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market remain a challenge. The stakes are high: Singapore's financial sector forms approximately 12.6 per cent of the jurisdiction’s gross domestic product. More than 1,200 financial institutions operating in Singapore employ over 200,000 people.