Dubai Islamic Bank launches new virtual training centre

The initiative will provide bank staff with advance training, experience, skills and insights to better meet the needs of the bank's clients in retail banking services.

The DIB Retail Banking Services Virtual Training Centre is located at the DIB branch on Al Ittihad Road in Dubai.

The opening ceremony for the centre was attended by Khaled Kamda, DIB Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and several other senior executives from the bank.

The training centre is based on a partnership with SnapShot, a leading human resources consultancy and training firm.

The training centre is one of the most sophisticated centres in the country.

The centre is seen as a means for DIB to develop and improve the level of service for the banking sector throughout the region.

"This initiative is a reflection of our commitment to being a financial services institution that delivers the highest level of service to its customers," said Kamda. "The emphasis we place on training has benefited not only our customers and employees, it has also benefited the emirate's economy. In line with our efforts to lead the banking industry in the area of Emiratisation, we have produced a National workforce that is highly educated, motivated and well trained".

Kamda added: "We have received many accolades due to our position as the pre-eminent Islamic financial institution in the country and the region. This has been achieved by our steadfast dedication to providing employees with the expertise necessary to work across the entire spectrum of the banking industry. On behalf of everyone at Dubai Islamic Bank, I am extremely pleased to announce the launch of this new training centre".

Along with theory, DIB employees attending the training centre can acquire hands-on experience, through such techniques as role playing. "We have created a facility that duplicates a bank branch," said Mohammed Amiri, Retail and Business Banking chief of DIB.

"The centre gives employees the chance to hone their skills by placing them in a variety of banking scenarios. The courses we have created are 70% practical and 30% theoretical. The goal is to equip employees with the abilities required to take on nearly any issue that may confront a bank branch".

SnapShot helps to empower the institutions it works with by providing key information that will enable them to conduct and pursue solutions comprised of three elements: reliability, effectiveness and measurability.

"Our partnership with DIB is a long-term partnership that is based on a clear understanding of requirements and mutual cooperation," said Dr. Fuad Jassim, Executive director of SnapShot.

The training centre is just one of several facilities DIB has created in recent years for its employees. In 2007, DIB created the DIB Training Academy for both management and staff.

Like this training centre, the academy's purpose is to increase the skill sets of its employees, and maintain the highest quality of service possible for the bank's customer base.