UK emerges as global leader in Islamic finance education and training

"Growth in the industry is not being matched by a similar growth in human capital," says John Willsdon, Product Manager for the certificate in Islamic Finance at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

"There is a strong demand for courses that will allow employees to get up to speed and quickly."

With demand currently outstripping supply, UK training and education providers are working hard to meet the shortfall.

More than fifty UK tertiary institutions provide Islamic Finance education - more than in any other market.

In the absence of a global standard, the UK-based Securities and Investment Institute (SII) has developed the Islamic Finance Qualification - an international benchmark that covers both the technical and Shariah perspectives.

The benchmark is designed not only to equip practitioners but also to provide a metric for employers and reassurance for customers.

It is now made available to a global audience of forty-eight countries.

One reason why the UK is leading the world in training for Islamic Finance is that it's scaling up from an existing skills base, thanks to a strong track record of providing Islamic financial products and services.

Global banks lead innovation - and more global banks have Islamic Financial Services windows in London than in any other financial centre.

Another is London's status as a truly global financial market.

"Employers are looking for courses that have a global reach - that is, courses which reflect what is happening throughout the world and that are not necessarily tied to a specific region or view, which can polarise the subject."

says Willsdon.

Burgeoning demand for UK Islamic Finance qualifications isn't coming just from home-grown Islamic financial institutions.

It's also coming from the GCC states as firms seek internationally benchmarked professional skills. Hence the emergence of global partnerships aimed at capacity-building within the Middle East.

SII, for instance, is working with individual markets in the region to develop qualifications.

Durham University and London's Cass Business School have both developed partnerships with overseas peers.

"The UK will always have the edge in providing education to the Islamic Finance sector because its institutions are held in high esteem throughout the world," says Roshan Madawela of the Research Intelligence Unit, a Thinktank, "and the developing world will continue to affiliate with developed world institutions in order to extend affordable course to their students from a local point".

Willsdon believes the development of global qualifications for the sector will encourage standardisation in what is currently a fragmented industry.

"Differences in practice currently exist, which regional courses only exacerbate," Willsdon says. "Standardisation of practice will remove doubt and strengthen the industry generally."