Egyptian Banking Institute expands training, capabilities developing of bankers locally, Africa-wide

Total of 24,150 trainees receive EBI's interactive distance learning in 2020/21

The Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), the official training arm of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), announced its achievements for fiscal year 2020/21, confirming its commitment to develop and train the human capital in the banking and financial sectors. The institute's outstanding accomplishments positioned it as a pioneer in learning and development across the region.
Abdel Aziz Nossier, Executive Director of EBI, expressed his delight at the Institute's journey in terms of development, growth, and achievement of sustainable success during FY 2020/21.
He said, "Launching EBI's E-Learning platform in 2018 is considered as a proactive step that made us ready to provide our services with the latest digital learning technologies after the spread of the coronavirus. During 2020/21, 24,150 trainees and more than 70,000 beneficiaries received EBI's interactive distance learning (IDL) and E-learning programmes. As for our international programmes, EBI delivered 80 international programmes for 1,184 trainees through IDL, in cooperation with international training and financial organizations. Furthermore, EBI also delivered several new programmes addressing topics compatible with the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the financial and banking sector."
Under the auspices of CBE, EBI continued to deliver the SANS Security Awareness programme in cooperation with SANS for 30,000 bankers from 12 banks enabling all candidates to be capable of facing all cyber dangers and electronic attacks. In light of EBI's continuous efforts to expand in delivering its E-Learning Services, EBI also signed a cooperation agreement with Go1, an established leader in online learning and education, to offer the Egyptian banking sector access to more than 80,000 courses from world renowned content providers, including Skillsoft, Thomson Reuters, and Wall Street Prep, all through one centralized platform.
Nossier added that during 2020/21, EBI developed and launched its Training for Employment (TFE) programme in its new e-learning format, with an aim of bridging the gap between academic education and the labour market requirements by developing the technical and business skills of youth through a specialized training that will make them capable of interacting and dealing with others and boost the skills required for their career growth.
Under the auspices of CBE and to complement the Institute's role in supporting the development of human capital in the African banking sector, EBI succeeded in providing training services during FY 2020/21 to more than 200 professionals in the African banking sector, bringing the total number of beneficiaries that benefited from EBI's training services reach more than 3,500 African trainees in more than 40 African countries.
As for EBI's assessment services, more than 47,500 candidates were assessed for the purpose of hiring, development and promotion, doubling the number of beneficiaries served in comparison to the last fiscal year. EBI now delivers its assessment services remotely, as per the signing of a cooperation agreement with one of the world's leading companies in the field of assessment services, "Mercer Mettl". The agreement authorizes EBI to provide a Mpaas system for candidates and trainees in the Egyptian banking sector to conduct secure online exams anytime and anywhere using credible anti-cheating technology and robust security features. Also; another agreement was also with Spencer Stuart's Leadership Advisory Services (LAS), the leading research and executive leadership company, to assess and develop executives.
Furthermore, EBI Launched Efham Business online platform, in cooperation with Nilepreneurs and GIZ Egypt on behalf of the German Development Cooperation and the European Union, to cater for the needs of startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and entrepreneurs, by offering non-financial support, knowledge sharing, and expert matchmaking services, in the fields of: accounting, legal consultancy, human resources, marketing, export readiness, and governmental procurement.
Since EBI's role is not limited to training only, EBI's Research and Awareness department issued the first Egyptian study to determine the Future of Skills in the Egyptian banking sector as a response to the increased interest devoted to new developments in the labour market, future trends in different fields, jobs, skills, and successive technological evolution. The study was presented to Egyptian Banks HR leaders' to mainly encourage employers and HR professionals to review their employment and assessment practices and to orient more efforts towards the workforce professional development and skills enhancement. In addition to the study, EBI also issues a publication to the banking sector that covers the latest international banking trends affecting the industry, and highlights the best practices of international institutions in each of these trends. In terms of supporting research and innovation, EBI launched in 2021 its "Innovation Competition" – to replace the research competition – with the aim of keeping pace with the changing dynamics within the banking sector influenced by digitization and Fintech technologies through research to reach the most innovative solutions. The ideas and projects of the contestants are presented to a jury of experts in the banking field to select the best projects.
As part of EBI's continuous endeavour to provide the best level of services and consolidate the relationship with its clients, a hotline number 15200 was launched to facilitate communication access to all information about the institute's services and to better attend to all inquiries.
As part of EBI's social responsibility, the second phase of "Basira" initiative was launched with an aim to improve access to quality of life for people with visual disabilities through converting their studying books to audio or word format enabling them to continue their studying easily. EBI also launched "Etaha" Initiative in May 2021 to support creating a diversified working environment and act as a link between people with special needs who are searching for job opportunities and the banking sector. Through Etaha Initiative; after meeting the registration requirements and passing the assessments; applicants are then enrolled in an online training programme to develop and enhance their talents and career growth skills. Upon completion of the training programme, applicants' data and experience profiles are uploaded to the initiative's online platform to be shared with the human resources departments in the Egyptian banking sector with the aim of integrating them into their recruitment process for potential employment opportunities.
Adding to successful initiatives designed for youth, Nossier was pleased to add that the implementation of the FinYology initiative has been assigned to EBI by CBE. The FinYology initiative aims at giving an opportunity to students from different universities to work on graded-fintech projects and to come up with innovative fintech solutions.
Adding on EBI's successes, Nossier noted that EBI launched an official website for its quarterly magazine, Al Masrafeyon, to include a set of news and developments in the banking sector, in addition to opinion articles and dialogues presented by a distinguished group of experts in the field. Al Masrafeyon website also discusses the latest developments in the banking sector, in addition to portraying all of EBI's activities and initiatives.
Nosseir concluded, "We will continue to devote resources to developing the workforce and the calibre of human capital in Egypt, Arab and African regions, providing the latest that is in line with international standards under the leadership and support of CBE."