Singapore, 9 June 2015 (Tuesday) -  Financial IT Academy @SMU (FITA),  the first-of-its-kind academy in Singapore to provide training programmes targeted at the financial services IT segment, has been granted Accredited Financial Training Provider status by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF).

Three new programmes have been accredited under the IBF Standards for Technology and Operations as Level 1 courses and will be launched on 13 June. They are:

· SMU Professional Certificate in Technology and Operations - Retail Banking

· SMU Professional Certificate in Technology and Operations - Commercial Banking

· SMU Professional Certificate in Technology and Operations - Asset Management

These programmes for financial sector IT professionals are the first to be accredited under the IBF Standards. They are specially designed for new hires and professionals with up to three years of experience performing technology job functions in the financial services industry, and for aspiring polytechnic/ university graduates and IT professionals looking to enter the financial services industry. The programmes seek to equip participants with holistic knowledge of essential enterprise-wide skills and broad-based technology competencies.

Ms Amelia Ching, Academic Director of FITA, said “FITA is aligned to the government’s call to better equip the workforce with relevant skills, given the rising demand and competition for IT related jobs in the financial services sector.  It is in a unique position to provide more learning pathways and training opportunities for IT professionals through these competency-based programmes. These accredited IBF Level 1 programmes aim to provide strong foundational knowledge and awareness of technology and operations at the entry level.  Capability-building is like lego building where you start by laying the right foundation before adding a more solid structure progressively. The three new T&O programmes are designed with this in mind.”

Ms Ong Puay See, Chief Executive Officer of the IBF said, “The Technology and Operations (T&O) segment is one of the key drivers of the financial sector, with many IT professionals hired in this segment. To enhance the capabilities of our IT professionals, the IBF Standards for T&O not only provides a strong foundation in IT competencies, it also imparts cross-functional knowledge of financial operations. The IBF Standards also provide career progression via certification in IT specialisations such as IT Application Design & Development, IT Risk Management & Security, IT Strategy & Architecture, IT Infrastructure Management and IT Service Management. We congratulate FITA for being the first institution in Singapore to have its programmes for financial sector IT professionals accredited under the IBF Standards.”

Taught by SMU faculty and industry practitioners with a wealth of experience, programme participants will have the opportunity to work on real-life world class banking system.

Each programme comprises four modules – The Essentials of Financial Institutions; Risks, Governance, IT and Cybersecurity; IT Infrastructure Management and Support; IT Application Management and Support – as well as a T&O business elective in either Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, or Asset Management. There will be three runs a year for each programme, with each run comprising 15 training days over five to eight weeks.

Participants who successfully complete this programme will be conferred the IBF Qualified (IBFQ) certification status and is entitled to use the qualification title “IBFQ”.

Participants attending these IBF accredited programmes will also be eligible for funding under the IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS), subject to all eligibility criteria being met.

Launched in October 2013, FITA is integral to Singapore’s national effort of expanding both the quality and size of the local IT professional workforce in the financial services industry, so as to strengthen Singapore’s position as a premier financial centre.

Located within SMU’s highly regarded School of Information Systems, FITA serves to equip financial sector IT professionals with enhanced IT capabilities that are critical to the growth of banking and financial services in Singapore, and also with the essential knowledge of the business needs and processes of financial institutions so that business and IT initiatives can be more effectively integrated for competitive advantage.

Besides IBF-accredited courses, FITA also runs programmes accredited under IDA’s National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF), as well as mid and advanced level courses catered to the more experienced professionals.

To find out more about the new programmes, please visit: http://centres.smu.edu.sg/fita/programs/ibf-level-1/

For more information, please contact:

Teo Chang Ching (Mr)

Assistant Director, Corporate Communications

Office of Corporate Communications & Marketing

DID: 6828 0451

Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg