New project aims to improve banking in Qatar

The KAFA'A project was launched this week with a goal of improving the financial sector in Qatar, according to Abdulaziz Al Horr, CEO of the Qatar Finance Business Academy.

"The KAFA'A project is launching with full speed as a multi-faceted framework aimed at not only elevating the financial sector's qualifications and training capabilities in Qatar but, also, at building an integrated system to qualify, train and assess industry professionals against world-class standards benchmarks," Al Horr said.

"KAFA'A aspires to be a springboard for a competitive talent pool that is equipped with the needed skill sets, capabilities and values to stretch its ambitions and that of the financial sector in Qatar," Al Horr said. "The project is the result of a collective effort by financial sector decision makers to actively tackle gaps in and need for a strategic framework that regulates and standardizes training and CPD (continual professional development) programs and that, effectively, elevates the industry to international caliber."

The 2012 Statistics Authority in Qatar estimated the size of the Qatari financial workforce, a unique blend of local and expat talents, at 11,274 professionals - with the banking workforce alone aggregating 8,729 professionals - and projected to double in a matter of five to six years.