MIM, MUBE agreement seeks greater professionalism

The Malta Institute of Management (MIM) and the Malta Union of Bank Employees (MUBE) have reached an agreement which is a first for Malta.

The organisations agreed on various principles that aim at ensuring continuous growth in the financial services sector and at continuous professional development.

The uniqueness of this agreement is that it brings academics and the industry on the same wavelength. Under the agreement, the MUBE shall appoint a representative on the MIM academic council that deals with the financial services sector.

The memorandum in itself is an instrument to avoid duplication of resources in Malta and to invite other organisations to collaborate with both the institute and the union. A fundamental clause within the memorandum invites individual employers and employers' organisations to ensure the meeting of the established common goals. The memorandum also seeks to invite other training organisations to team up with MUBE and MIM to ensure that the common objectives of having an even more highly professional financial services work force are met.

The MUBE members will receive various benefits from this memorandum, including access to various publications of MIM including research papers such as the integration of financial markets within the EU. MUBE and MIM will also organise relevant research papers together.

MUBE members will be able to attend courses organised by the MIM training arm, Malta's leading business and management school, at subsidised rates.

MUBE and MIM will engage into regular sector training needs analysis to ensure that the financial services sector is continuously equipped with the skills and capabilities required. This includes also investment, promotion and awareness of innovation management in the sector. This will ensure that the workforce is all the more ready to meet the challenges it is faced with in today's highly dynamic and competitive market.

The issue of mobility and transferability will be also partially addressed in this manner.

The first activity as a result of this agreement will take place on May 24 when a seminar on "Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery in the Financial Services Sector" will be held. The main speakers will be a Malta Financial Services Authority representative, a UK expert dealing with the human resources aspect and a Bank of Valletta speaker as a representative from the industry.