As a renowned international financial centre in Asia, Hong Kong is well-positioned to seize growth opportunities by servicing customers and companies in the region which have a rising demand for professional banking and financial services, says Carrie Leung, CEO of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB).
“We must continue to raise the industry’s professional standards, and we should do so by enhancing the capacity of our people,” Leung says.
Capacity building and talent development has become one of the key priorities for the banking industry, Leung explains. There is an increasing need to raise standards within the profession by equipping practitioners with the skills sets that they need for tomorrow, in order to ensure the sustainable growth of the banking industry.
“Training demand is rising in the local banking industry and there is now the need for a common qualification benchmark,” Leung says. “There is a need to align a set of competency standards that banking professionals should strive to meet in order to thrive in today’s dynamic banking environment. Requirements are becoming more complex and HKIB has a crucial role in developing the products for a sustainable industry.”
This is especially important given the changing talent landscape within the industry. “We need to find an effective way to engage the younger generation and attract young joiners,” Leung says.
In light of these points, HKIB will launch the new Certified Banker (CB) qualification in January 2017, which will further support capacity building and talent development for the local banking and financial services industry.
The three-stage CB programme is suitable for current banking and financial practitioners, as well as young graduates who wish to build a stronger professional foundation and deepen their knowledge of the banking industry.
“The sustainable growth of the banking industry lies in people,” Leung stresses. “It is important for us to do more to engage young professionals, as millennials are already starting to form the bulk of the workforce and represent the future.”
