UBS Financial Services Industry Academy

My advice is that do not apply with the expectations of landing a full-time role with the bank. Conversion is contingent on whether there is headcount on your assigned team which is beyond your control and I understand that there are many teams hosting trainees without a headcount. If you have zero experience in the banking/finance industry, this is a decent opportunity to gain experience and skills but do apply elsewhere in the meantime. If you have prior experience, there is no upside - it's like buying a put option in a highly bullish market and paying a ridiculous premium for it.

Anyone applied recently and completed their interviews?

Wanted to ask how you guys found it and if you know what the next steps are

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to know from the 2020 batch, what their experience is like, the department they are in and how is the work-study schedule like. If there is any further information you can provide also that would be great. Interested in applying for the program and would be glad to have more info on it.

Among all the FIs in Singapore, UBS is the most crappy one. They treat their employees like crap, and always seek to minimize costs at all costs. This "UBS Academy" **** is basically a cheap way of covering their operational work while fulfilling their headcount limitations. So if you actually think you're gonna get converted... sorry to tell you but you have a better chance elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to know from the 2020 batch, what their experience is like, the department they are in and how is the work-study schedule like. If there is any further information you can provide also that would be great. Interested in applying for the program and would be glad to have more info on it.

The courses are a waste of time. Sometimes you may have to bring your work home during the two supposed off days. I haven’t really learnt much from the sessions. And the programme heads think the courses are appropriate enough a reason to underpay us. If I knew this I would never have accepted offer. This programme has too many lies and I can tell you that a lot of us just want out.

Hi all,

I too have applied for 2021 SUPER under AM division. just interviewed

From the interview unlikely to have any full time conversion after that. Also i did ask the EDs about the courses during the 2 remaining days but they were not very sure themselves...

any current 2020 SUPER AM interns here? care to share your experiences?

also I was warned that there would be alot of menial tasks as well.

More info would really help!

-also the telegram group link is spoilt.... is there a new group link?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi all,

I too have applied for 2021 SUPER under AM division. just interviewed

From the interview unlikely to have any full time conversion after that. Also i did ask the EDs about the courses during the 2 remaining days but they were not very sure themselves...

any current 2020 SUPER AM interns here? care to share your experiences?

also I was warned that there would be alot of menial tasks as well.

More info would really help!

-also the telegram group link is spoilt.... is there a new group link?

I'm from the 2020 batch going to end my traineeship in a few months time.

You're right on the conversion, my manager just told me up front they do not intend on converting. The traineeship covers their semester long intern requisition they do twice a year, and they don't convert those either.

The program isn't really well planned, no orientation, no proper roles planned etc. It's like you're there to cover whatever work the associates and managers can't do, so you'll really get quite a range of work to do from diff managers. Most of them are very menial like data cleaning, checking etc, so there's not much learning value to it.

And somehow i get the feeling that the full timers there kind of look down on us, like they will keep saying things like, aiya why u got traineeship, never work hard enough and so on, so its kinda quite toxic there.

Some of my friends and I wanted to quit a few weeks in but realized we have no where to go. Hais.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Among all the FIs in Singapore, UBS is the most crappy one. They treat their employees like crap, and always seek to minimize costs at all costs. This "UBS Academy" **** is basically a cheap way of covering their operational work while fulfilling their headcount limitations. So if you actually think you're gonna get converted... sorry to tell you but you have a better chance elsewhere.

That is pretty much the same case as banks all seek to minimize costs. Cutting back infrastructure support, manpower resources, rather stick to the archaic system of doing things than to embrace tech, etc.

in all honesty, which other Bank offers this kinda programme with such a low barrier to entry?
As far as I remember, the (real) aim of this programme was for UBS to "give back" to SG, since back in 2020 employment demand virtually hit rock bottom due to COVID19. More like UBS was/is trying to gain brownie points w/ the govt. And i quote from the official press release
"...... equip trainees with skills and experiences that would be valuable as Singapore's recovery phase begins following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiative is aligned with the workforce development priorities of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, it added."

Most of the replies here were basically suggesting the trainees treated like cheap labour, underpaid and not being able to be work on "exciting" tasks, second-class employees, etc.
With all due respect, for all of the above anyone with a quarter of a brain could see this coming from a mile.

I am working in a Bank as well, and have been in the banking industry coming 8 years. My post is not to put anyone in this programme down but rather, to highlight to you the reality v.s. expectations. It's not wrong to have expectations - i.e. the possibility of conversion but you need to weigh your options carefully. Always be on a look out for other better job prospects man..

I was from the 2020 SUPER batch as well and have left for an analyst role elsewhere.

The "type" of tasks/projects you will be assigned is highly dependent on your desk - I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work on projects / tasks similar to what full-timers do and propose ideas as well but I have heard of (many) desks that assigns purely administrative work to the trainees. For any analyst/associate role, admin/menial tasks are expected but it cannot be just that. My advice is to clarify with the interviewers and get them to provide examples of the projects/tasks you will be working on - I believe for the 2021 batch they will be more transparent.

I would be honest to tell you that conversion opportunities are super limited - there are many desks looking to take in a trainee w/o any headcount or plans to expand the team - so you can clarify with the interviewers as well (they may or may not be upfront with you so exercise your judgement) but just keep expectations low in general. Focus on learning as much as you can so you can be confident in articulating your skills and knowledge for your future interviews - and do actively apply in the meantime.

If you cannot secure a full-time offer 3-4 months into the program, my advice is to seek for rotation opportunities - you want to broaden and expand your knowledge and skill sets and this helps you to gain a better understanding of the business as well.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I was from the 2020 SUPER batch as well and have left for an analyst role elsewhere.

The "type" of tasks/projects you will be assigned is highly dependent on your desk - I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work on projects / tasks similar to what full-timers do and propose ideas as well but I have heard of (many) desks that assigns purely administrative work to the trainees. For any analyst/associate role, admin/menial tasks are expected but it cannot be just that. My advice is to clarify with the interviewers and get them to provide examples of the projects/tasks you will be working on - I believe for the 2021 batch they will be more transparent.

I would be honest to tell you that conversion opportunities are super limited - there are many desks looking to take in a trainee w/o any headcount or plans to expand the team - so you can clarify with the interviewers as well (they may or may not be upfront with you so exercise your judgement) but just keep expectations low in general. Focus on learning as much as you can so you can be confident in articulating your skills and knowledge for your future interviews - and do actively apply in the meantime.

If you cannot secure a full-time offer 3-4 months into the program, my advice is to seek for rotation opportunities - you want to broaden and expand your knowledge and skill sets and this helps you to gain a better understanding of the business as well.

This guy is a troll lah.