Malaysia establishes International Council of Islamic Finance Educators

21 days to go Monday 25th August 2014 Malaysia establishes International Council of Islamic Finance Educators Daily Cover MALAYSIA: In an effort to elevate quality standards and professionalism of Islamic finance educators, Malaysia has established the International Council of Islamic Finance Educators (ICIFE). Inaugurated by the deputy prime minister and education minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, ICIFE was set up by a taskforce comprising Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), International Islamic University of Malaysia, the country’s Education and Higher Learning Ministry, INCEIF and the Asian Institute of Finance. Muhyiddin expects ICIFE to develop progressively in the future, becoming a global organization which provides dynamic leadership in quality assurance and enhancement of Islamic finance education. “The difficulty we previously faced when we did not have national consensus on a standard education curriculum for Islamic finance, is now resolved,” he affirmed. The market-based Islamic finance education standard is approved and accredited by the Malaysian Quality Assurance of Malaysia. According to the Malaysian central bank, it is anticipated that the overall Malaysian financial sector requires about 200,000 additions to the workforce throughout the years until 2020. As at the end of 2013, Islamic financial institutions employed approximately 17,621 employees, constituting around 11% of the total workforce in the overall financial sector. Muhammad Ibrahim, the deputy governor of the central bank, on a separate occasion highlighted three characteristics of high-quality talent: “Firstly, we need talent who can cater to the needs of the industry, whom will be sought after by the Islamic financial institutions. Secondly, we need talent that can contribute breakthrough ideas, ones whom will spark innovation and capable to envision and chart the future direction of the industry. And thirdly, we need talent who are solidly grounded on conceptual understanding and contemporary industry knowledge, ones who can carry the industry's transformations.” His address was delivered by Wan Mohd Nazri Wan Osman, the director of Islamic Banking and Takaful at BNM. With over 30 years of development in Islamic banking and finance, Muhyiddin calls on the Islamic finance global community to collaborate and mutually benefit from Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace. 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