Dubai, UAE – The Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS) hosted a meeting of UAE bankers to discuss the principal qualifications framework for the position of entry-level certified retail bankers. The meeting aligned with the efforts of the National Qualifications Authority (NQA) towards setting the benchmarks for competency in various sectors including banking.
Noura Abbas Ahmed, Director, Program Delivery and Administration, Dr Philip Hamil, Director of Learning Division, Dr Allen Baby, Manager, Center for Training, and several faculty members represented EIBFS at the meeting. Among the attendees were subcommittee members of the Recognized National Development Committee for Banking (RNDC) from Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), Union National Bank (UNB), Sharjah Islamic Bank and RAKBANK. RNDC comprises representatives of the Central Bank of the UAE, major banks across the UAE, NQA and EIBFS.
Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager of EIBFS, said: “In addition to achieving much-needed standardization of practices across all banks, the implementation of a national qualifications framework for various occupational profiles within the banking sector will ensure that entry-level banking professionals receive consistent and high-quality training. EIBFS is currently working with industry experts on occupational analysis that will lead to the formulation of National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS) and eventually the National Qualifications Framework for the certified retail banker position.”
He added: “The meeting examined at length the knowledge, skills and diverse competencies required for the position. We thank the bankers for their valuable feedback that will now form the basis for developing national vocational training.”
The attendees identified three distinct modules that define the job role of entry-level certified retail bankers – service, operations and sales. All candidates for the post, they suggested, must have matching competencies across these three areas, including both technical skills and soft skills. However, it’s important to note that it is not going to be mandatory to possess this certification to fill up positions in the retail banking division. What it does is to develop a framework, setting standards for such a position at the entry level across all banks.
Furthermore, the bankers agreed that compliance training should be mandatory in today’s banking sector, where risk assessment and implementation of global regulatory standards are among the critical components of successful banking operations.
Frederic de Melker, Managing Director of Personal Banking at RAKBANK, said: “Over the past years, compliance has become a crucial element of protecting our customers and partners against regulatory breaches. A banking qualification should reflect the importance of knowledge and experience in bank compliance.”
Vinod K. Nair, Head of Performance and Reward, Group Human Resources at Emirates NBD highlighted the need for developing qualifications at various levels to ensure career progression. He added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for inexperienced individuals to gain a foothold in the industry. It benefits both the employer and the employee. Appropriate qualifications give employers an idea of the potential and competencies of candidates based on the learning certifications. And for the employee, it provides the necessary self-confidence and skills when embarking on a new career.”
CBD’s association with EIBFS as one of the subcommittee members in this joint effort to develop a qualifications framework that would benefit UAE nationals was highlighted by Hind Ahmed Kamel, Senior Manager, Service and Sales Coaching at CBD.
Kamel said: “CBD is pleased to support this initiative that is aligned to the bank’s strategy to develop skills among its current and future UAE national employees. This specialized approach will provide our Emirati employees with a great foundation for building their capabilities and create career development opportunities that enable them to become future leaders and participate effectively in the growth of the banking industry.”
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© Press Release 2018
