Investing in Talent: The Gold Industry Training Programme
Thu Mar 06 2025
In January the World Gold Council was delighted to collaborate with the Singapore Bullion Market Association on the third edition of the Gold Industry Training Programme. This programme is designed to provide an overview of the gold market and its supply chain, and the role of gold as an asset class, to individuals in the earlier stages of their professional journey, or for specialists interested in a deeper understanding of other areas of the supply chain. It was developed to create a pipeline of talent for the gold industry, and to position the gold industry as an attractive and interesting career proposition. To outsiders, the market might seem opaque – but the industry provides a unique opportunity to be involved in diverse markets, international banking and finance, and a broad range of topics including ESG, financial policy, market infrastructure, international trade, manufacturing, and chemical engineering.
Recent gold demand likely to spur interest in gold market career opportunities
Last year, gold was at the forefront of financial discussions, generating a return of 26%. This was primarily driven by investment demand (up 25%) and continued central bank purchases of gold. In fact, central banks have now purchased over 1,000 tonnes of gold every year for the past three years. Over 40 all-time-highs throughout the year ensured that gold was frequently in the news. This is likely to lead to a renewed interest in exploring the gold industry as an attractive career proposition, and with Singapore’s role in the global gold market set to further expand, the development of a gold industry training programme is timely.
2025 has started positively. Gold finished January at an all-time-high of US$2,812, up 8% on the month, adding another positive start to its strong seasonal record. All-time-highs were logged across the board in major currencies, including USD, GBP, JPY and EUR.
According to the World Gold Council’s Gold Return Attribution Model (GRAM), almost all drivers contributed positively, including a large rise in the Geopolitical Risk (GPR) index, with the only major drag coming from the lagged momentum effect of a strong US dollar in December. Global gold ETFs secured a US$2.6 billion (30 tonnes) gain in assets under management (AUM), driven almost exclusively by strong inflows into European gold ETFs (+US$3.4bn, 39 tonnes) – likely aided by a European Central Bank (ECB) cut that took bund yields down quite dramatically over the course of the month. US funds lost US$500 million (6 tonnes), Asian funds pared US$320 million (4 tonnes), while other ETFs managed small inflows totalling US$51 million (1 tonne).
The threat of tariffs has also had an impact in a couple of ways. In the shorter term, a premium developed in the US market as investors and traders sought to pre-empt the imposition of potential tariffs. In the longer term, tariffs and trade protectionism are likely to be inflationary, providing another tailwind for gold. Our research has shown that gold has been considered an effective hedge against inflation, and inflation concerns have been a key driver of interest in gold.
Singapore has long played an important role in the global gold market. It is a major refining centre, processing and refining gold for export to markets across the region. There is healthy trading activity, augmented by Singapore’s role as a major international financial centre and location for many of the world’s largest banking and financial institutions. But Singapore’s role isn’t just limited to refining and trading. There is an active jewellery market and fabrication takes place in the country for export to markets across the world. The retail bar and coin market is also very active, and bar and coin demand was up 22% last year in Singapore – one of the highest percentage increases across the markets we study. This strong retail investment interest in gold is serviced by an active bar and coin market in Singapore, with many dealers and even banks offering gold to consumers. All of this makes Singapore an ideal place to consider a career in the gold market, and it is not surprising that we have seen significant growth in attendance at the training we have run in partnership with the SBMA over the last few years. This interest isn’t just limited to Singapore – many institutions across the region have sent delegates to attend the programme, cementing Singapore’s role as a regional gold hub.
We embarked on the programme as part of our broader partnership with the SBMA, and to explore ways of working together to enhance the gold market and raise professional standards and interest in the gold industry as a career. We started a few years ago and attracted over 25 participants from a range of institutions, including vaulters, dealers, refiners, and banks. Fast forward a few years, and interest in the training is now coming from across the region, with sessions fully booked. We have complemented the annual training by running ad hoc sessions, including for a delegation from Indonesia. This included visits to supply chain participants in Singapore, to help the delegates better understand the broader gold market ecosystem. The fruits of this have now been borne, with Indonesia recently enacting new legislation and issuing regulations for the establishment of bullion banks. The further development of Indonesia’s gold market is likely to create new opportunities for Singapore – the gold market is global, and Singapore’s role as a gateway to international markets will grow stronger as the region further develops.
The programme is catered to individuals already working in the gold industry who want to learn more about different parts of the supply chain, and those looking to increase their knowledge of the role of gold as a financial asset, including asset managers, bankers, and trade association professionals. The objectives of the programme are to:
There is clearly demand for training, and we will continue to develop and run the programme in years to come. This year, we will be adding new content, including a deeper dive into the jewellery market and the technical applications of gold. Gold’s use in technology accounts for about 7% of annual demand but it is a growing area. Gold has a number of technical applications including in printed circuit boards (PCBs) and as demand for more capable processing power increases – not least because of developments in AI – gold’s use in technology is an important area to understand and watch. Stay tuned for details of the next training, and contact the SBMA team for more information if you’re interested in finding out more.
Source: https://sbma.org.sg