Daily Briefing: OCBC looks to expand AI lab; HR and benefits platform HReasily has secured a $6.9m in a financing round.

And Ministry of Manpower launches new Service Industry Transformation Programme.

From eFinancialCareers:

OCBC is recruiting more data scientists for its artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Singapore to add to its current team.

The unit, which launched last March with a team of just three, now employs about 30 data scientists, and OCBC wants its headcount to reach 40 next year, says lab head Ken Wong.

“Over the past three years, we’ve seen a huge increase in strategic AI projects within the bank that require specialised data science skills,” says Wong. “So we decided that the best model is to hire data scientists into the central OCBC AI Lab.”

In particular, the AI Lab is reportedly looking for a mid-level AI data scientist with at least four years’ experience and a postgraduate degree in fields such as statistics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The bank is also looking to hire workers with experience in “applying machine learning techniques and designing algorithms that are scalable and production-grade”; and knowledge in analytical tools and languages such as Python scikit-learn, R, or SAS ML.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

HReasily, a Singapore-based human resource and benefits management platform, has secured a $6.9m (US$5m) financing round, according to an announcement.

Envy Capital, a unit of Singapore fund manager Envy Asset Management, led the financing round. HReasily said Envy Asset Management has been its customer since the latter’s inception in 2015.

HReasily’s CEO Pascal Henry said that they will use the funds to accelerate their developments and create new product features.

The company claims it has 30,000 companies on its platform from eight economies across Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Read more here.

From Channel News Asia:

Firms in the service industry will get a leg up to further drive transformation and become manpower-lean with the new Service Industry Transformation Programme (SITP) launched on 11 September by Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.

Co-developed by the Singapore Productivity Centre and Workforce Singapore, the programme will equip firms with tools to develop their service delivery model, as well as job redesign techniques needed to catalyse and start their business transformation.

This programme is part of the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS), which helps enterprises adopt manpower-lean initiatives and drive business growth.

In her speech, Mrs Teo highlighted how some firms have already embarked on efforts to facilitate lean processes. She noted the usefulness of such a move amid the uncertainties that surround today's economy, including possible labour constraints.

Read more here.