Human capital requirements in Singapore's international financial centre

International financial centres (IFCs) are regarded as important nodes in governing global flows of money and capital. With increased globalization and rapid technological changes, the rivalry among IFCs has further intensified competition for financial labour—as a concentrated pool of highly skilled finance workers in an open and flexible labour market is crucial to sustaining the competitive dynamics of these urban financial hotspots. This study investigates the importance of different skills and tasks in financial work. Based on surveys and interviews conducted among Singapore's IFC workers, the findings show that cognitive, interpersonal communication and managerial-leadership skills and tasks are more important in financial work, whereas programming, mathematics and systems-based skills are perceived to be less important. Additionally, a network visualization of finance occupational skills obtained from Singapore's national skills database reinforces the importance of cognitive and relational skills in that sector. Higher-order cognitive and relational skills are expected to become even more critical as the financial sector undergoes rapid digital transformation, reinforcing the importance of IFCs as agglomerations of skilled finance talent.