QFBA chief executive officer Abdulaziz al-Horr delivers a presentation during the launching of QFBA’s programmes and courses for 2016. PICTURE: Jayan Orma
By Peter Alagos
Business Reporter
The Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have signed an agreement, which transforms QFBA into a hub for public finance in the Mena region.
Speaking to reporters yesterday during the launching of the academy’s programmes and courses for 2016, QFBA chief executive officer Abdulaziz al-Horr said the agreement mandates QFBA to conduct research, training, and awareness seminars in the field of public finance.
“Qatar is now a destination in terms of training on public finance,” al-Horr said, adding that the hub will cater to the needs of professionals, particularly those from government agencies and authorities.
Al-Horr said the OECD will provide the expertise for the training and the topics for research and awareness seminars.
“It is a very thorough exercise because we can focus on research, which contributes to the body of knowledge in the areas of public finance. We are not only confined to training but also producing, sharing, and disseminating knowledge,” al-Horr explained.
He added: “Qatar is into public finance, not only in terms of building on human capital and investing on people but also in aggressively improving government exercises in all areas, and public finance is one of them.”
Al-Horr said QFBA’s upcoming programmes cover a wide range of financial and business courses, including banking, insurance, capital markets and asset management, business administration, compliance and anti-money laundering, leadership and management, and communication and soft skills.
During the launching event, al-Horr presented a study on human capital development worldwide, and emphasised on five main challenges: culture and engagement, leadership, learning and development, reinventing human resources, and workforce available on demand.
Al-Horr also revealed the five main hubs that envision the QFBA to be a centre of excellence in public finance, Islamic finance, competency framework, customer service, and training and development.
He said the public finance hub aims to assist Middle East and North Africa countries through a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Finance and to serve as regional OECD centre.
For the Islamic finance hub, al-Horr said: “QFBA will develop and support this offering and solutions in order to establish fully-integrated plans, while the competency framework is one of the most important centres of excellence where QFBA is implementing Kafa’a, the first professional licensing standards system for the financial and banking sectors in Qatar.”
He said the customer service hub provides training to reach the level beyond customer satisfaction – “customer happiness,” while training and development aims to be the “go to” hub for enabling organisations and professionals to “turn their dreams into reality.”
“The QFBA is a key partner in achieving the Qatar National Vision 2030 and this requires continued upgrades in our educational and training programmes but also in our vision.
“The Kawader programme assesses organisations and addresses staff competencies, and provides training and development to Qatari human talent in the financial and business sector,” al-Horr said.
