CISI And BIBF Announce The Launch Of A New Islamic Finance Qualifications Pathway

BIBF has announced the launch of a new Islamic Finance Pathway developed by the Institute in cooperation with the awarding body, the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), UK.

The new pathway is designed to introduce two new levels of qualifications around the already existing CISI IslamicFinance Qualification (IFQ) Level 3. The first qualification in the pathway offers a foundation level (Level 2) qualification, the Fundamentals of Islamic Finance Certificate, as an entry point for those wishing to develop theessential knowledge related to Islamic finance before progressing to the IFQ Level 3.

After achieving the IFQ level 3 the pathway provides practitioners with the opportunity to demonstrate andconsolidate their knowledge through specialist diploma level qualifications which can ultimately lead to theDiploma in Islamic Finance or Advanced Diploma in Islamic Finance.  The aim is to develop qualifications at Level 4 in four specialist areas.  These will be created in line with the industry’s demand.

BIBF Director Solveig Nicklos noted that unlike many of the qualifications on Islamic Finance that are currently available in the market, the result of the collaboration between BIBF and the CISI will focus on specialised key areas in Islamic banking and finance, such as Shari’ah auditing, governance and ethics, risk management, andIslamic financial markets and instruments.

“The Islamic Finance Qualification of the CISI has gained an admirable reputation among industry practitioners in both the Islamic banking and traditional banking industry. BIBF and CISI are collaborating to build pathways around this qualification, by providing clear progressive paths with varying levels of depth and specialisation.”

“It has been a privilege to work with the CISI as founder and awarding body of this revolutionising pathway. We are proud to serve as their international strategic partners in the field of Islamic Finance,” added BIBF Deputy Director Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh.

Kevin Moore, Chartered MCSI and CISI Global Business Development Director said: “Since 2007 when welaunched the IFQ, 4,000 examinations have been sat in over 50 countries. This new Islamic Finance QualificationsPathway has been developed with BIBF to provide a progressive study path for practitioners to support career development. Students will also obtain free CISI Student membership, which means they can become associated from the outset with a Chartered, professional body working all over the world.”

Matthew Cowan, CISI Regional Director for the Middle East added, “I am delighted to have been working with BIBFfor a number of years and this latest development strengthens our partnership. We are both confident that the newIslamic Finance Pathway provides tangible value to market practitioners and will increase their knowledge, skillsand professionalism”.

The new CISI/BIBF Islamic Finance Qualification Pathway, for Islamic Finance practitioners, is based around theestablished Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) l’Ecole Superieure des Affaires (ESA) and CISI joint venture.  

Originally published on www.cpifinancial.net