The fireside chat was held between Gan and several young talents, including current undergraduates from NTU and SMU, as well as recent successfully-employed fresh graduates working at UBS, JPMorganChase, and Prudential.
In this volatile, tension-filled macroeconomic environment, AI is adding to the complexity by rearranging traditional roles on a large scale. The more optimistic view is that this is a “period of wonderful uncertainty”. However, for many young graduates, the more common sentiment is to wonder how they can navigate what is seen as a “cooked” job market and build a resilient career.
For Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, the simple answer is to keep on learning. “You never quite graduate from university, you are always continuing to study,” said Gan on May 19 at the 2026 Financial Industry Fiesta.
This year’s Financial Industry Fiesta was hosted by Singapore Management University (SMU), aimed at highlighting the efforts made by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) and partners — which include financial institutions, the government, unions, and institutes of higher learning (IHL) — to strengthen the bridge between education and employment.
