UOB Introduces Three Programmes To Assist Employees

According to UOB, it would gradually roll out more comprehensive assistance for its employees at all career stages, including opportunities at the beginning of their careers and benefits that go beyond retirement.

As stated at the Bank’s yearly employee festival, Better U, on Thursday (5 October 2023), it includes:

• an industry-first one-year work programme that collaborates with Singapore’s five polytechnics and three Institute of Technical Education (ITE) colleges to develop the talents of their students

• a physical UOB Better U Campus housed in the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) for employees to upskill and reskill

• transition programme to get employees ready for retirement.

Partnerships with polytechnics and ITEs 

The U Unleash Programme (UUP) will be introduced by the Bank in collaboration with the five local polytechnics and three ITE institutions to provide potential graduates with more in-depth insights into life at UOB. As part of this collaboration, final-year polytechnic and ITE students from schools of hospitality, business, and information communications technology will have the chance to take part in an internship with UOB for a whole year.

These students may be assigned to one of the business groups of the bank, such as UOB Private Bank, Group Commercial Banking, Group Technology and Operations, or Group Channels and Digitalization, in positions like assistant relationship managers and credit analysts.

The Bank disclosed that as a component of the curriculum, students may also have the opportunity to work during their internship in two different business functions in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the Bank’s operations. The students will also take training classes to give them the information and abilities necessary for the banking sector.

Successful participants will be given the chance to accept a full-time position with UOB when they graduate from the UUP. The Bank will also give sponsorships for qualifying individuals to continue their education if they so choose.

The UUP targets to reach 500 students over three years. 

Related link: Standard Chartered Provides Minimum 20-week Paid Parental Leave Effective On 1 September

The new UOB Better U Campus

UOB has partnered with SIM to launch the UOB Better U Campus, which will see the consolidation of all UOB’s training and development programmes under one roof, keeping in mind that reskilling and upskilling remain top concerns for employees in Singapore as well as a “burgeoning demand” for formal training spaces.

The Campus, which is located in SIM’s Management House, is 10,500 square feet in size and has six training rooms as well as a place for system training that is tailored to the needs of the Bank.

By Q1 2024, the UOB Better U Campus will hold its inaugural training session. UOB added that through a number of strategic alliances with SIM, it would also enhance and enrich its training initiatives that concentrate on long-term human capital development.

Launch of Supporting Ur Retirement and Future

UOB will launch SURF (Supporting Ur Retirement and Future), a programme that aims to “adequately prepare employees for retirement or re-employment with the Bank, assuring them that the Bank will ride the wave of changes with them,” in response to the pressures facing “young seniors,” a term used in Singapore to describe those in their 50s and early 60s.

Workshops lasting two and a half days will be a part of the plan, which aims to improve workers’ mental, physical, and financial preparation. The offered modules cover topics including creating health plans based on each employee’s individual physical profile, cognitive enhancement techniques to help people think more clearly, and the significance of estate planning as well as how to do it.

In order to help qualified departing staff members transition smoothly into the next phase of their lives, UOB will also extend medical insurance coverage to them for an additional six months beyond their retirement date. The benefits enjoyed by current staff members, such as waived yearly credit card fees and preferred deposit interest rates, will also continue to apply to retired personnel.

All permanent employees who have worked for at least five years continuously and are 61 years of age or older will be automatically registered in SURF and be able to take advantage of its benefits starting in 2019.

Dean Tong, Head, Group Human Resources, UOB, commented on the aforementioned activities, saying: “These efforts set a new norm for the sector in terms of staff training and welfare. Whether a potential hire, a mid-career professional looking to upskill, or a veteran getting ready to retire, they make sure UOB employees are supported and enabled at every step of their careers in a continuously dynamic environment.