Emirates Institute For Banking And Financial Annual HR Forum Highlights Need For Innovative Skills

Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, organized an Annual HR Forum themed “Changing Industry, Changing Skillsets”, which brought together leaders from the banking and finance industry.

Aimed at addressing the changing face of the industry, the forum had a panel of subject matter experts including Mr. Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager – EIBFS, Husam Al Sayed, Group Chief Human Resources Officer – Emirates NBD, Dr. David Ricketts Innovation Fellow at Harvard University. The forum was also attended by EIBFS Board members and members of the Emiratisation and Women’s Committees.

The HR Forum is an annual event that brings to light the innovations in the banking sector and the need for upscaling of employees. With the industry increasingly leaning towards digitization, fintech and blockchain technologies the need to build capacity and further educate professionals has been increasing. The forum also highlights the various initiatives and steps taken by EIBFS and banks to better equip professionals to support their growth in the industry.

Fintech has disrupted the financial services industry across multiple levels. Its scope and application transcend traditional banking and have enabled the sector to adopt new ways to make transactions quicker and easier.  EIBFS has been constantly upgrading its training courses and built partnerships with relevant stakeholders and organization to introduce new training modules.

The event was headlined by renowned technology, entrepreneurship and innovation speaker, Dr. David Ricketts. Dr. Rickett has held appointments at Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, MIT and North Carolina State University. For the past decade, he has been taking courses at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In addition, Dr. Rickett is an award-winning scientist and engineer whose innovations have been featured by Popular Science, Smithsonian, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, ESPN, and many other science news outlets. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Investigator Award. His work has appeared twice in Nature and his scientific research focuses on the physical limitations of circuits and systems and how to address them through new materials, circuits and devices.

Speaking about the forum and 2020 plan, Hesham Abdullah Al Qassim, Chairman of EIBFS said: “There is so much that digital innovations have to offer as service. Digital disruption is on the rise and keeping pace with the changing landscape is very important. Our 2020 strategy and plan focuses on building tomorrow’s workforce. A workforce that has understood the current demands of the industry and has upskilled themselves to better perform their duties and achieve their goals. The Annual HR Forum at EIBFS is a great way for all industry leaders to convene and discuss the best practices and way forward.”

Jamal Al Jassmi said: “We recognize the added value that fintech brings to the financial sector, creating waves with the endless possibilities it is opening up within the industry. In addition to enhancing customer service and increasing competitiveness, the technology helps unlock growth opportunities through higher accountability and improved traceability. As an institute dedicated to advanced financial studies, we are proud to introduce our students to cutting-edge training and certification programs in the fintech space.”

“We are committed to enabling banks, insurance companies and other financial organizations to keep pace with the latest trends in financial services. Fintech is a prominent development across the domain, and banks stand to reap considerable benefits from adopting fintech solutions to streamline processes and operations. Building on the success of the first round, we plan to conduct regular certification programs in this space,” he added.

“With the changing landscape of the industry the need is now more than ever for relevant members of the industry to come together and discuss steps to increase participation and learning of those employed in the sector. This year, we also established the Learning Emiratization and Women’s Committees which played a fundamental role in setting up the 2020 learning strategy and understanding the types of services that need to be offered in the banking sector. This was great success in meeting the market needs in terms of training and development. I would also like to thank all the HR leaders, board and committee members for being our constant support and helping us build a comprehensive curriculum,” he concluded.

Dr. David Ricketts presented an interactive session on innovation. Speaking about innovation in the industry he said: “The banking and finance industry is continually changing. The educational requirements and the need for upscaling is constant. Technological innovations are being introduced every day. Through forums such as these we can shed light on the industry requirement. I am extremely excited to be a part of the forum today and would like to thank EIBFS for the opportunity.”

At the forum HR leaders also reviewed and approved the 2020 Annual Training Plan of EIBFS. In efforts to support the rising demand towards digitisation and implementation of technology, the new training plan also recognises the importance of fintech and has included programs that support upskilling in the digital domain.  EIBFS’s 2020 annual training plan focuses on techno-functional skills, including on Fintech, Digital, Blockchain, AI, IoT, Cybersecurity and Business Analytics, among other areas.

With its comprehensive training courses in the field of finance and banking, EIBFS is at the forefront of advanced financial education and capacity-building. The Institute has partnered with specialist training and technology solutions providers in the USA and Europe to empower finance professionals with cutting-edge skills.