By Elizabeth Chukwuma
The Wuhan Town of the Hebei Province of the Asian country of China emerged coronavirus, popular, COVID 19, appears to have given Bayo Olugbemi, President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, and other officials of the Institute, an opportunity ‘’to redirect the nation’s banking sector towards the path of entrenching a sequenced competency development programme and build capacity for the stability of the financial system’’.
This is to ensure that the nation’s Banks compete favourably with banks in other parts of the world in the post COVID 19 era. The Institute, according to insider sources had given Certificates of Accreditation to some Institutes both with and outside country to serve as learning center to achieve the development and capacity building capacity programme for the Banking industry as a way to stabilizes the battered economy due to COVID 19.
As a prelude to achieving the desired objective, the Institute, under the close watch of Olugbemi, was said to have issued ecently Certificates of Accreditation to Heritage Bank plc, under the close watch of Ifie Sekibo, owned Academy, popular, the Refinery, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN ,Crown Agent and Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, CISI, which are based in in the United Kigdom, UK, B. Adedipe Associates Limited, The Nigerian Stock Exchange X Academy,Limited, Katalyst Consulting, Knowledge Beyond Limited, and Bideswell Consulting Limited.
Others on the list of the accredited Aademies, Institues and Consulting Firms included Ultravantage Solutions, EdgeEcution Global Resources, Katalyst Consulting, Michael Stevens Consulting, NLP Nig. Limited, Procept Assoiates, Professional Services Limited and Don Mitchell & Co. Limited. This is in addition to Bode Zakari Management Consultants, Success for ALL Limited, Edcof Educational Sevices Limited and Klverharris Limited.
The Accreditation of Heritage Bank Refinery Academy, according to Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, of the bank brings to 19, the number of Bank training schools that had been issued Certificate of Accrediataion by CIBN.
The Institute may not have limited the Accrediation exercise to Bank Training schools. It was said to have Accredited 25 Education service Providers in the recent exercise , thus bringing the number of such service providers in the country to 75. It was said to have also given Certificate of Accrediations to 69 unsolicited and six unsolicited others within and outside the country.
Ibidapo, the Divisional Head of the Heritage Bank Corporate Communications who gave an insight about the Accreditation of the Bank’s Refinery Academy, supervised by the Bank’s Human Capital Group, said ‘it was accredited by the Institute after assessing and evaluating its syllabus, curriculum and structure by a Panel of technocrats including the seasoned Bankers set up by the Institute’’.
He noted that based on the Institute’s report which confirmed that the Academy’s syllabus, curriculum and structure perfectly ‘’aligns with the Competency Framework of the CBN, under the close-watch of Godwin Emefiele, and the Professional Paper standard of CIBN’’, had made the issuance of the certificate of Accreditation to the Acaademy join other approved Bank Academies, Institutes and Consulting Firms to train Professionals for the nation’s Banking Industry and Financial system.
Recall that speaking during the presentation of the Certificates of Accreditation, to the Heritage Bank and the other selected Institutes including Consultng Firms, who got the CIBN, approval, Bayo Olugbemi, the President, who could not hide his feelings had said ‘’the event marks yet another significant milestone in the annals of the Institute, and its continued quest for the strengthening of the intellectual resources and capabilities of the human capital in the nation’s banking and Finance sector’’.
He explained that apart from the efforts currently being made towards addressing the Competency challenges in the Banking industry, the issuance of Certificate of accreditation toHeritage Bank plc and 25 others, was also intended at enthroning a minimum standard for practitioners in the nation’s Banking industry’’. Olugbemi was said to have applauded the Sekibo managed heritage Bank for setting ‘’a high standard of learning facility which its structure and curriculum ‘’ is next to that of the apex Bank training Institute’’.
Financial analyst believe that the Heritage Refinery Training Academy believe that the Institute may have considered ‘’is in the Class of the United Bank for Africa, UBA, plc a Pan African Bank, Zenith Bank plc, Guarantee Trust Babk, popular, GTB, Acess Bank plc and First Bank of Nigeria, plc training school, described as the best in the nation’s banking industry as they wre said to beat ‘’par with international best standards’’.
An elated Sekibo, the Rivers state born Managing Director of the new generation Bank who could not hide his feelings that Refinery Academy owned by the Bank is on the list of the CIBN selected 19 Bank Academies providing Professional Educational Training services to Banking Practitioners.
Recall that UBA plc, Zenith, GTB and First Bank, training school , had been providing such services to the Institute over the years without any allegation of non performance.This may have informed why , Sekibo, described Heritage ‘’as a forward looking Bank which ’’strength lies in the ability to spot and mould talents into great Professionals’’.
Jude Monye, an Executive Director inthe Bank, who was said to have collected the Certificate of Accreditation for the heritage Refinery Academy from Olugbemi, the CIBN, President , on behalf of the school, believes the Bank’s Academy Academy madde the CIBN list ‘’for the purpose of refining its employees to emerge as gold and harness the required skills to excel in their job functions’’.
According to him ‘’the Refinery Academy, which is a name given to the Heritage training school, was established to train , nurture and arm young employees with the right skills needed to fast-track development and enable teams to flourish’’
.Many believe that the Heritage Refinery Academy may have taken a cue from the UBA plc training school as’’it was designed to take participants on an enriching rigorous and intellectually engaging learning journey to equip them with Fundamental Competencies required of a Professional Banker.
They noted that the curriculums are structured in such a way that it would accommodate both core and non-core Banking graduates such as Finance, Credit and Accounting, Organisational and Behavioural Competencies among others who want to become chartered.
About 300 bank employees of the bank who are fresh from Universities both within and outside the country with diverse Academic backgrounds were said to have been given a 12-week academic, practical and theretical training with over 30 courses in the Heritage Academy in PortHarcourt.
There are indications that more employees of the Bank are soon to undergo refresher courses in the school to further equip them with the skills of the Banking job with the advance indigital technology.
