Maltese discuss creation of risk management association

“In Malta the need was felt to create a risk management association. Currently this is in its discussion stages but once fully fledged it will seek to promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and advice among its individual members, corporate members and professional associations on all matters of a professional, technical and organisational nature,” he said. Mr Farrugia said that the plan is to develop uniform practice standards and establish a code of conduct to achieve a level of professionalism to ‘preserve the integrity and impartiality’ of the profession. He said that the association would act as a central organisation to disseminate professional knowledge and to offer expert advice to members and the wider industry and cooperate with similar organisations on matters of common interest. “For the benefit of the members and the industry they serve it would seek affiliation with other institutions or associations of professional standing and repute. This would help provide the appropriate academic framework for the attainment of professional qualifications in the field of risk management and assist in the development of professional education in risk management,” continued Mr Farrugia.hideThe move is demand-based because the MITC says that it sees more demand for courses on risk management, compliance and related topics on top of the more standard Chartered Insurance Institute- accredited courses that it already offers to local and international students. “We offer a variety of more specialist training programmes apart from the generic courses for younger people and employees. These include insurance underwriting, actuarial studies, risk management, diplomas in corporate governance and financial services to single out a few. Some are based on international examinations. We are venturing into actuarial studies and compliance is a growing area,” he explained. “We would like to see risk management propagate here too. Risk management is certainly not embedded in the primary programmes yet for educating the industry at large and we would like to see investment in risk management programmes. Companies here do have people who are responsible for risk management and in this respect are aware of risks in general but perhaps not in such a professional and formal way. We would like to help improve this,” said Mr Farrugia. Mr Farrugia agrees with many in the wider industry that the cause of risk management would certainly be boosted if it were made mandatory. “It is really up to regulators to take a stand on this issue and make it compulsory to have professional risk managers with more defined roles and responsibilities. The introduction of revised regulations, such as Solvency II, should see demand for such a professional programme increase especially in the light of the new risk-based regime,” he explained. Apart from the high-end risk management, compliance and wider financial services training the MITC also has a role in spreading the word outwards to the wider community and attracting more young people into Malta’s growing industry. The MITC was set up as a training company in 2007 with a goal to educate and train the market and local community in financial services. This was largely done because it was recognised that Malta would need a more educated and skilled local workforce to help drive the growth of this sector which is so key to the future economic well-being of the island. Last year the MITC carried out a number of visits to schools and colleges as part of an effort to try and attract new talent to the financial market. The government runs a large institute for training people in vocational professions and the university takes a similar role on a professional level. “MITC is involved in educating young people in financial services especially in the light of the sector still being seen as a means of becoming an accountant or a banker. This is still the firm perception among young people. So the role of the MITC in this sense is to try and correct this attitude. As educators we are in the best position to educate and guide young people on the various types of jobs and career opportunities available.” Mr Farrugia said that training the local workforce is particularly important if the island is to continue to attract major overseas financial institutions from the insurance, banking and fund management sectors. “Malta is attracting a lot of foreign investment from captives, PCCs, reinsurance companies, insurance managers and other parts of the financial services industry such as investment management and fund management. Therefore there is a demand for specialist technical training and this is where MITC comes into play. “The Malta Financial Services Authority has brought together the various training organisations to ensure that all financial services training is satisfied in a collaborated manner. We have an Education Consultative Council which is principally brought together to make sure there are no training gaps in the market and to identify areas where specialist training is needed. If we do not have the resources and knowledge on the island, then companies will not be so readily attracted to invest in Malta. We need to make sure we are adequately equipped to cope with demand,” he concluded.

Maltese discuss creation of risk management association

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