• It marks a significant boost for professional standards in the Kingdom’s insurance & financial planning sectors

Manama: The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) recently received agreement from the prestigious Chartered Insurance Institute (CII, UK) to continue receiving recognition of prior learning awards for their students. The renewal was obtained after the CII’s periodic benchmarking of the BIBF’s professional qualifications to ensure the BIBF qualification units continue to match the CII qualification units.

The BIBF currently offers 13 different CII-accredited units in in both English and Arabic languages. These units range from introductory courses in insurance to specialised technical units.

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) is the world’s largest professional body in the field of insurance and financial planning and has provided education to over one million students in 150 countries over the past ten years.  The BIBF insurance graduates may use their qualifications as exemptions towards the CII’s internationally recognised insurance qualifications.

The BIBF has worked with the CII for many years and is considered the only training provider in the world to offer the CII’s Diploma in Insurance qualification (to achieve Dip CII status) in the Arabic language.

On this occasion, Director of the BIBF, Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, expressed his pride in renewing the CII exemptions, “This recognition by the CII continues to add further value to our in-house qualifications and enable the BIBF graduates to progress to CII’s internationally-recognised insurance qualifications without duplicating their BIBF studies.”

He also stressed the BIBF’s commitment to providing world-class training to upskill business professionals on a global level, conveying the importance of cooperation among the stakeholders concerned to develop well-qualified local cadres, which contributes to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a regional centre for professional training in insurance.

On her part, Head of the Insurance Centre at the BIBF, Mrs. Manal Mashkoor, highlighted the BIBF’s achievements in the insurance field and internationally-recognised qualifications that are at par with what is offered across the world, having achieved the “Educational & Training Initiative of the Year 2022” Award by Middle East Insurance Industry Awards last year.

“The BIBF is committed to providing the best insurance qualifications to reinforce its position as a premiere insurance training provider, and we will continue to strive towards adding further programmes to our suite of offerings in line with the market needs.” She added.

Regional Director of the CII, Middle East, Mr. Gaenor Jones commented: “We are very pleased that the BIBF have chosen to embed CII qualifications into their learning pathways, and we look forward to collaborating closely.  Attaining a CII qualification which is internationally recognised, demonstrates a student’s commitment to high professional standards and adherence to best practice, as well as technical skill.

He also added, “Through this partnership, the BIBF continued to show their strong commitment to ensuring insurance professionals excel in their personal development journey. The Institute is also actively encouraging CII membership so that qualified professionals are able to demonstrate their CII designation.  It is very good news for the insurance and financial planning sectors in Bahrain, propelling professionalism, and ultimately boosting confidence in the sectors from consumers and businesses.”    

With over 40 years of experience in training and professional development, the BIBF continues to introduce and develop new programmes, in partnership with international training institutions, in line with the highly dynamic market needs in the local and regional business sector.

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