Singapore has strengthened its commitment to improving competencies and the competitiveness of its financial sector with the recent launch of the Financial IT Academy @ SMU (FITA) by the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Initiated by the Government, FITA aims to address the need of continual upgrading for finance sector practitioners as the finance industry rolls out more complex products to an increasingly sophisticated and demanding customer base.

SMU was appointed by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to be the lead training provider for FITA, designing and delivering quality IT training programmes for IT job roles in the financial services sector in Singapore.

“This is an incredible programme as it targets skills upgrading for IT professionals who have worked in financial services and know the issues confronting practitioners in the sector – issues such as the huge volumes and flow of data, and how to make sense of it,” said Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of IDA, who was guest of honour at the launch of FITA.

He added that the coming together of government, industry and academia to collaborate on FITA was noteworthy. It ensures that the courses are recognised, that they meet rigorous academic benchmarking and are useful for the industry.

In rolling out FITA, SMU partners IDA, the Institute of Banking and Finance, banks as well as IT vendors. Professor Steven Miller, Vice Provost of Research and Dean of SMU School of Information Systems, said the role of FITA is to develop financial and IT manpower with enhanced IT capabilities as well as essential knowledge of business needs and the processes of financial institutions. This will enable the financial sector’s business and IT initiatives to be more effectively integrated for competitive advantage.

IT is integral in the finance industry and that the setting up of FITA will enhance Singapore’s position as a leading financial hub worldwide, added Professor Miller. The academy will also foster innovation and bring about skill development and competency enhancement.

Applauding the move to set up FITA, Ms Ho Lok Pin, Head, Group Technology of OCBC Bank said, “The FIT Academy is dedicated to developing and nurturing a talent pool of IT professionals for the financial industry, which is critical in supporting Singapore’s continued growth as a leading financial centre in Asia.”

FITA will offer 28 course areas in the following areas: Critical Financial Services Institutions (FSI) Masterclass, Hybrid FSI IT Conversion Training Courses, Emerging FSI IT Training Courses and Advanced FS Technology and Operations Management Programme Courses. These training courses will be conducted by FITA full-time staff and SMU School of Information Systems faculty members, in collaboration with industry partners.