Ensuring quality workforce in Islamic finance

By RUPA DAMODARANKUALA - ISLAMIC financial institutions have been urged to secure talents with innovative mindsets, as early as the students’ admission into unversities, so that quality talents can be developed to support new growth areas in the sector. In making the call, Bank Negara Malaysia deputy governor Datuk Muhammad Ibra-him said the ability to produce the right kind of talent will be the key determinant in charting the future of Islamic finance. “It is paramount for Islamic financial institutions to secure talents with innovative mindsets. The search has to begin as early as the admission of students into universities,” he said in his keynote address at the Islamic Finance Education: Global Roundtable Discourse, here, yesterday. “Quality over quantity is key to ensure we hit the primary target set for human capital development. When you are out of quality, you are out of business. But if we are committed to drive this together, the talent in Islamic finance will be the centre of excellence.” Muhammad also proposed for academic entry requirements to be set high so as to gather a strong pool of brainpower suited to the needs of the market. “When Islamic finance is equip-ped with striking intellectual capacity, it heightens the credibility of the industry and safeguards its prominence.” The local financial sector is anticipated to require a workforce of about 200,000 until 2020. As at end-2013, Islamic financial institutions employ about 17,621 employees, which constitute around 11 per cent of the total workforce in the financial sector. (Source: http://www.nst.com.my/node/25364)