The Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) is ready to provide accreditation to training programmes offered by training institutes following a rigorous assessment under the new Assessment and Accreditation Framework and to ensure the highest standard of the trainings offered. The Association for Chartered Islamic Finance Professionals, a body entrusted to raise the quality standards and professionalism of Islamic finance practitioners, would also contribute to achieve this objective. This will centralise the setting of standards in Islamic finance and provide the assessments to ensure that the standards are being met. Partnerships and collaboration between the industry and academia There needs to be greater partnerships and collaboration between the industry and academia to align training and development with the requirements of the industry. Greater  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  involvement by the financial institutions is needed in designing the academic and training curriculum, and providing real business exposure and training through internship and sharing of experiences. Industry-universities partnership can also take the form of “summer school” programmes that emphasise on practical aspects of Islamic finance via business operation simulations. This move would provide value-added practical knowledge and hands-on experience to improve the technical competency of the graduates. More structured continuous learning programmes are also needed for practitioners to sustain their professional competencies. For top executives, the ICLIF Leadership and Governance Centre offers programs that aim to develop future business leaders for the financial industry.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Talent development in Islamic finance over the next decade Keynote address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Launching of IBFIM’s Islamic Finance Qualification Framework & Progression Route (IFQFPR) “Talent development in Islamic finance over the next decade”, Kuala Lumpur, 14 December 2011. *  *  *  In a highly dynamic, rapidly changing and challenging environment, talent development for the financial services industry has become an even more important agenda to ensure that its growth and development is supported by the necessary skills and capabilities. This is particularly important for Islamic finance given that it has become the most rapidly growing segment in our financial system. With the increased pace of the internationalisation of Islamic Finance, this growth momentum is also taking place in several other jurisdictions. This current global financial crisis which has highlighted the importance that the growth of the financial sector should correspond with the growth of the economy and for risk management and governance practices to be strengthened to ensure its stability and sustainability has also prompted increased interest in Islamic finance. These are the very principles and foundations inherent in Islamic finance. Talent as a thrust for industry advancement The development of the Malaysian Islamic financial system, has now evolved our Islamic finance industry into a progressive, comprehensive and competitive component of the overall financial sector.