Banking in the UAE is maturing rapidly, with the dynamic diversification of the economy. UAE banking assets are the largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the banks are well-capitalised and globally integrated. Not only are the banks flourishing as businesses, they are also providing opportunities for high-quality employment to aspiring professionals.

However, with success come challenges. And one of the biggest challenges facing the banks today, and Islamic banks in particular, is a shortage of skilled professionals who will become the next-generation of banking leaders and administrators. Today, the demand for banking skills is outstripping demand and there is a pressing need to supplement the existing education and training programmes, to provide the necessary talent to support the growing demand for banking services.

 

Vast spectrum

The range of banking operations is not only expanding but also increasingly becoming complex, and professionals need high-quality decision-making skills to execute a formidable range of functions. From handling the finance for international projects that require cross-border transactions to providing wealth management advice, bankers must operate a wide spectrum of complex portfolios.

The pool of customers is getting wider and deeper, especially with regard to young people, women and the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, which have traditionally received little attention. To capture these markets, banks are ramping up their retail and commercial banking operations. Mobile and online banking is also asking questions of bank staff, requiring them to adopt a new mindset, one that embraces product innovation and distribution, new operating models and a different approach to risk and security management. All this is taking place against a backdrop of increased regulation, which requires regular updating of skills and knowledge.

The shortage of skills is particularly acute in the Islamic finance sector. The UAE is one of the leading Islamic banking centres globally. The country’s Sharia compliant banking assets, according to EY’s 2014 report, was $127 billion (Dh466 billion) last year, making it the third-largest Islamic banking market by value, after Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. The UAE’s Islamic banking sector is expected to be worth $263 billion by 2019. As the number of financial institutions offering Islamic products and services grows, there will be an increasing demand for trained and skilled employees. At present, this demand is being met mainly by people with experience of the conventional banking system but little experience of Islamic finance. Those that do have an Islamic finance background are in high demand and at risk of being poached by predatory banks. Clearly, in the long-term, this is not a sustainable recruitment model.

 

Need for banking education

The challenge for the banking industry, therefore, is to maintain a steady supply of trained banking, financial and technical personnel — given the formidable range of operations needed — to ensure the UAE’s banks remain the best managed and regulated in the Arab world. It’s not just about keeping ourselves competitive and efficient, banks also must have an eye on wider picture. The financial sector contributes about 12 per cent to the UAE gross domestic product (GDP) and, therefore, a healthy banking sector translates into a healthy economy. This essentially translates into a continuous need for an educated and highly trained workforce, from the bank branch to the boardroom.

It is time for the nation’s banking industry to take the long-term view when it comes to having a skilled and knowledgeable talent pool. And that means corporate financial education in different forms — short-term training based on the needs of the banks, as well as long-term undergraduate and diploma degrees — is required to ensure a continuous supply of trained banking and financial personnel. The need for a ‘go-to’ independent premiere training and academic institute for banking and finance professionals and students of the UAE and GCC region has never been greater.

 

Premier League

While it is true there are in-house training programmes devised and run by the financial institutions themselves, the benefits of a full-fledged corporate education banking and financial institute adds depth to the existing courses on offer. In addition, it can be argued that corporate education and training lead to more engaged employees, which reduces recruitment costs that, in turn, has a tangible impact on the bottom line.

But there is another important — indeed it could be argued the most important — imperative that must be considered. While the majority of banking and financial staff are and will continue to be expatriates, at least in the short term, it is important we provide the youth of the UAE with high quality corporate education to enable them to compete with the best in their class from across the globe. There is much talk about creating a sustainable society and economy. If we are truly to do that, then we must provide today’s, and future generations, with the knowledge and skills not only to create the sustainability but also to lead it.

The Emirates College of Finance (ECF), a new brand identity of Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), which was inaugurated by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, last year in May, is a conscious step in that direction. It is not intended to compete with existing training programmes of EIBFS and other institutes, but to complement them. The ECF will continue to focus on corporate education (BSc, Diploma and certificate programmes), catering to the banks and financial industry to help ensure excellence among future employees and qualify them for successful careers, providing them with the necessary in-depth knowledge and skills to compete in an increasingly competitive world.

Meanwhile, training young nationals, alongside expatriates, will not only provide a worthwhile career for UAE nationals, it will also demonstrate to the world, the UAE’s commitment to making the best use of the resources it has, including human resources, while ensuring the nation’s future prosperity.

 

— Hussain Al Qemzi is the chairman of Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS). He is currently the CEO of Noor Bank.