BANKING

Article
nationals in the banking sector by allocating quotas for
Emirati employees across banks in the country. More
recently, the bank has moved beyond the quota system
to a point-based system that aims to enhance the quality
of jobs available to Emirati nationals, in order to allow
them to grow within their organisations.
Banks across the country should accumulate a certain
number of points based on the quality of positions given to
UAE nationals – the higher the position, the more points
the bank gets. Considering the UAE female population’s
preference for challenging roles and job growth, the new
system goes a long way towards attracting more women
to the banking industry.
Given its fundamental role in the country’s drive to create
a sustainable economic future and diversify its economy
away from oil, banking is a strategic sector for the UAE.
While oil-exporting countries continue to encounter
significant challenges due to falling oil prices and global
economic instability, our government has set the pace for
national economic growth through its various initiatives
aimed to enhance employment in the UAE.
With a wide variety of courses and training programmes
on offer, EIBFS is ideally positioned to spearhead this
effort. This year-to-date, the institute has delivered a total
of 833 vocational training and educational programmes
– more than half of which drew the participation of UAE
nationals.
We must keep in mind that the banking and financial
services sector fluctuates under the influence of
unforeseeable economic issues. As thought leaders
of our nation, we should prepare employees to tackle
any present and future challenges that our country may
face. For this reason, EIBFS constantly develops and
updates its training portfolio to meet industry demands,
including the introduction of courses addressing the
issue of corporate restructuring.
BANKING & FINANCE U.A.E February 2017 37