OCBC Group, today (June 15) announced that it would hire more than 3,000 people in Singapore this year across various entities, including about 2,100 in full-time roles. This will help provide opportunities for fresh graduates and other job seekers amid the economic and employment uncertainty brought about by COVID-19. 

OCBC's announcement comes after it previously said it would not lay off any of its 30,000 employees worldwide as a result of the pandemic. It has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, posting a 43 percent plunge in first-quarter net profit last month.

OCBC said it would also hire for more technology-related roles to cater to the increasing number of customers accessing its digital channels and services, in addition to reskilling and upskilling its current employees.

The full-time job openings will be with OCBC Bank and subsidiaries Bank of Singapore and OCBC Securities, as well as insurance arm Great Eastern Holdings. These include roles in wealth management, corporate banking, risk management, data analytics, operations, and technology.

The new full-time positions represent about 19 percent of the group's current workforce of around 11,000 employees in Singapore, said OCBC.

It will also continue to hire fresh graduates through their graduate programmes. More than 500 traineeship positions will be offered to university and polytechnic graduates under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme in areas such as corporate banking, data, and technology. The other 400 positions will be for university and polytechnic internships.

Economists predict that unemployment in Singapore will rise to about 4 percent as a result of the pandemic.

A survey conducted by the bank showed 55 percent of the 1,000 respondents were worried about job security amid the COVID-19 crisis, and 46 percent were worried that they would be retrenched in the next six months.

“We are committed to helping Singaporeans ride out this extremely difficult period,” said OCBC Group Chief Executive Officer Samuel Tsien.

“Though COVID-19’s impact on the economy has been severe, this crisis will come to an end," he added. "When confronted with crises in the past, we have persevered, learned, and adapted, then emerged stronger."

"We will do the same again – and play our rightful part in not just saving lives, but saving livelihoods as well.”

OCBC's announcement comes after another local bank DBS announced last month that it would hire more than 2,000 people in Singapore this year, with more than 1,000 in new roles comprising a mix of apprenticeships for fresh graduates as well as more specialized roles for seasoned professionals.

Source: Channel News Asia