innovation labs in 2015, the singaporean share in jobs created at these labs was just 40 %. with more labs set up over the years and more singaporeans exposed to innovation work, singaporeans now make up about 60 % of the 180 high value jobs created at these labs. two, imda partners financial institutions through the techskills accelerator ( tesa ) initiative to train and place fresh and mid - career professionals into tech roles. since 2016, more than 500 professionals have been placed into tech roles in the financial sector, such as so ware developers and data analysts, through company - led training and tesa mid - career advance. three, mas works with financial institutions to support individuals from outside the financial sector transit into tech roles in the sector. through the technology in finance immersion programme ( tfip ), mas has been working with ibf and workforce singapore to support individuals with stem capabilities through industry - curated training in specific tech skills followed by a work attachment with a financial institution from 70 trainees in 2019, we now have 190 participants. 1 out of 3 are from the mature age group or were unemployed when they enrolled in tfip. this year, under the refreshed tfip, there is indicative [UNK] of around 400 traineeships across more than 20 financial institutions. there will be 10 specialist tracks [UNK] in this run, twice the number as before. there are at least 80 positions in so ware engineering alone. it is a far cry from the 300 so ware engineers the industry needs each year. but it is a good start. conclusion let me conclude. our financial sector has shown that technology creates far more jobs than it displaces. during the last 5 years, the financial sector created 21, 000 net jobs. we estimate that about 1 out of 4 of these net jobs were in technology. while singaporeans took up 75 % of the total net jobs, they accounted for only 35 % of the tech jobs. there are simply not enough singaporeans applying for tech roles. the problem is not jobs ; it is skills. the financial sector is on track to create many good jobs in technology over the next few years. they present a great opportunity for singaporeans – provided we acquire the skills necessary to take on these jobs. the answer does not lie in restricting the inflow of foreign tech expertise. on the contrary, it is by attracting the best tech talents from around the world that we can anchor new tech capabilities and functions that expand job opportunities for

range of functions – from risk management, business analytics to customer service. we are now among the most tech - enabled financial centres in the world, supported by a vibrant fintech ecosystem and strong foundational digital infrastructures. singaporeans have benefitted significantly from digital financial services. we can : see our financial data across financial institutions and government agencies in one single portal to enable comprehensive financial planning ; trade securities and buy insurance on the go ; and pay for almost anything with just a mobile phone. can we imagine what life would have been like during last year ’ s “ circuit breaker ” lockdown if we did not have paynow or fast? many of these digital finance services would not have been possible without the strong technology workforce in the financial sector. take for example sgfindex, which provides a 360 - degree view of our personal finances through a mobile application ( app ). the front - end of the app is simple and intuitive, a delight to use. many of us have seen it. but to develop and manage such an app, a bank has to assemble a highly skilled and diverse technology team : product owners – who create the vision for the app and work with business and tech teams to deliver it ; business analysts – who work with customers to understand their requirements ; system and security architects – who design the app based on its security, data, and infrastructure requirements ; api designers – who develop apis that provide and pull data from various financial institutions onto the app, taking into consideration data security ; ui / ux designers – who design the look and feel of the app to provide a good user experience, such as minimising the number of clicks to perform an action ; so ware developers – who write the programmes that underpin the functionalities of the app and seamless integration across its [UNK] components ; testers – who ensure that the app performs according to the requirements ; production supporters – who monitor the performance of the app, manage incidents, and ensure timely resolution of issues ; and data analysts – who analyse app usage statistics and customer feedback, in order to recommend improvements to the app. let me catch my breath here. the multitude of technology talent needed to develop and manage just this one single product is staggering. the technology workforce in our financial sector is an estimated 25, 000 ; 30 % more than in 2014. singaporeans make up just over one - third of this workforce. many of the tech skills required to do the jobs i have described earlier are in short supply locally.