Programme developed in collaboration with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to meet global training standards

Tanfeeth becomes first private sector organisation in the region to offer specialised underwriting course

Dubai, UAE, September 01, 2013: Tanfeeth, the leading onshore Business Services Partner organisation in the Middle East, announced today the launch of its Underwriters Certification Programme, which is specially designed to meet the current shortage for skilled underwriters in the GCC's banking and insurance sectors. With this launch, Tanfeeth becomes the first private sector organisation in the region to offer a specialised underwriting course.

The three month programme includes both conventional and Islamic products, and was developed in collaboration with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. This helps to confirm that all curriculum and assessment methodologies for the programme are in line with global training standards. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Suhail Bin Tarraf, Chief Executive Officer, Tanfeeth and Brad Boyson, Executive Director at SHRM Middle East and Africa.

Tanfeeth also announced the completion of an initial pilot course earlier this year, with 12 participants successfully completing the course. They received formal certification from Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region and the parent organisation of Tanfeeth.

"Tanfeeth's Underwriters Certification Programme will help address a critical skill shortage here in the region. As a people-focused organization, it also opens up new career opportunities to our current employees, and gives them a chance to gain specialist qualifications in a critical, high demand role in the country's banking and insurance sectors," said Suhail Bin Tarraf, CEO, Tanfeeth. "This is in line with our commitment to nurture key talent within the organisation and develop our own future leaders."

Brad Boyson, Executive Director at SHRM Middle East and Africa said: "With the UAE and Dubai consolidating its position as a financial services hub in the region, there is a crucial need for skilled banking and finance personnel, who also understand the intricacies and nuances of the region. We are delighted to work with Tanfeeth to help develop their Underwriters Certification Programme. We are confident that this will go a long way in producing more qualified underwriters from within the GCC region, who are trained to international standards."

The course combines classroom training with practical hands-on experience and scenario-based learning to cover all aspects of underwriting, such as liability exposure, policy wording, deal structuring and quoting techniques, as well as all relevant underwriting systems, processes and policies.

"We are now focused on getting more high-potential Tanfeeth employees to become qualified underwriters whilst also offering the course to organizations across the GCC's financial and insurance sectors," said Partika Raj Malhotra, Head of Learning and Development, Tanfeeth. "Looking forward, we will continue taking the lead in introducing new learning programs to enhance the competitiveness of regional organizations by up-skilling their talented employees."

Efficient underwriting is one of the key enablers for insurance companies to achieve efficiency and differentiation in order to remain competitive and improve margins. In the UAE, insurers cede more than 50 per cent of their insured premiums to reinsurers with an obvious impact on their bottom line, as risk and profit is shared with the reinsurer.

The Society for Human Resource Management represents more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the interests of the HR profession as a whole. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices across the globe including the United Arab Emirates.

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About Tanfeeth:
Tanfeeth is the GCC's first Business Services Partner and in Arabic, its name means 'getting the job done.' This underscores its commitment to delivering bottom line results for its clients through customized, scalable solutions which improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of processes and services across the entire business value chain. Tanfeeth gets results by working in partnership with its clients, applying deep regional knowledge and by investing heavily in its people with ongoing training opportunities and leadership development programs for talented local employees. It currently employs 2,000 staff across the United Arab Emirates and is a fully-owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD.

For further information, please contact:
Bernadette Enright
Head of Communications
Email: Bernadettee@tanfeeth.ae
Phone: +971 (0) 56 149 7803

For further information, please contact:
Sudha Chandran, ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600; Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: sudha.chandran@bm.com 

© Press Release 2013