Singapore, 25 May 2007 – Securities and Investment Institute (SII), the leading examining and membership body for the investment and securities industry in UK, is partnering with ACI Singapore to jointly offer the Operations Finance Preparatory Programme (OFPP) locally.
The programme, initiated by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) to expand the pool of fresh talent to meet the needs of the industry, will prepare local and foreign graduating students for a career in Global Banking and Securities Operations, one of the fastest growing areas in the local economy. The OFPP equips students with practical knowledge and skills for immediate entry into the field. The curriculum has significant input from the key financial institutions supporting the programme.
For added impetus, the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) will provide a funding support of up to 70 percent of the programme cost for each successful applicant. The FSDF was set up to develop and enhance talent and infrastructure for Singapore’s financial centre.
Loo Siew Yee, Director, Strategic Development, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and CEO of Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) said, “MAS and IBF are committed to working with industry players to deepen expertise and to widen the pool of talent for the industry. We are glad that SII and ACI Singapore will be jointly offering this programme after extensive consultations with the industry.”
The OFPP is strongly supported by top international investment banks including Barclays Capital, Citi, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS who will provide employment opportunities for graduating students.
Reflecting the industry partners, Paul D. Hedges, Industry Specialist from JP Morgan Chase said, “"The OFPP is a milestone, a step towards the further enrichment of the infrastructure of Singapore's growing financial services industry. We are pleased to nominate the SII to lead this initiative, where fundamentally this course will have the right mix of local and international practitioner-based skills and knowledge transfer."
Andrew Butcher, Citi's Head of Operations & Technology, Markets & Banking, Asia Pacific added, "The OFPP will certainly attract and infuse the breadth and depth of talent that is needed for the growth of Singapore’s financial sector as well as its preferred status as a regional or global hub for banking operations."
The OFPP combines the global strength of SII’s international leading qualification, the Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ™) with local expertise of ACI Singapore to develop a “global-local” professional in Global Banking and Securities Operations.
IAQ™ is a market established benchmark qualification for operations and administration staff. Practitioner-led, the course equips individuals with knowledge and insights into the financial services industry and its regulation. Candidates who successfully complete the OFPP will receive a joint award from SII and ACI Singapore.
“SII is dedicated to help people attain skills, maintain those skills and to promote trust by encouraging a high standard of integrity and ethics for the securities and investment industry. We will work closely with the authorities and industry partners to develop a steady pool of skilled financial talent for Global Banking and Securities Operations, enabling Singapore to remain at the forefront of the increasingly competitive capital market,” Mona J. Poomy, Vice President, South East Asia, Securities & Investment Institute.
SII accredited Kaplan Singapore as its Accredited Training Provider (ATP) in March this year and Kaplan will be the exclusive training partner for the IAQ™ international components of the OFPP. Kaplan Singapore will be working with SII to provide training courses and revision classes to prepare candidates for the SII IAQ™ examination. Kaplan in the UK has a similar partnership with SII to provide training courses in the UK.
Singapore currently ranks fourth in the 2007 World Financial City rankings and a key factor in the ranking is the availability of skilled personnel in this sector. The launch of the OFPP is timely as the financial services sector of Singapore is seeing unprecedented growth all round. SII together with industry partners will work in tandem with the government to continue making Singapore a location of choice to global banking operations with a solid foundation of an educated and qualified workforce.
For more information on the Operations Finance Preparatory Programme, visit www.sii.sg or email fpp@sii.sg.
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