Mauritius Finance launched a series of training initiatives on 9 September in collaboration with renowned international partners the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), CLT International (CLTI) the International Compliance Association (ICA) and STEP, to promote upskilling and capacity building in the financial services sector.

The launch event was held at the Hennessy Park Hotel in Ebène in the presence of the Hon. Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance; Her Excellency Charlotte Pierre, British High Commissioner of Mauritius; Mr Mahesh Doorgakant, Chairperson of Mauritius Finance; Mr Samade Jhummun, CEO of Mauritius Finance and a myriad of financial industry players.

Promoting access to quality education

In his address, Minister Seeruttun lauded the training initiatives and emphasised that “Mauritius can successfully compete as a financial jurisdiction and, through the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) registered courses that Mauritius Finance is launching, employers must encourage their employees to receive the cutting-edge training.”

He went on to add that “our people are our asset and giving them a wider access to quality education through such capacity building initiatives will turn our industry into a more powerful one”. The Minister also congratulated the leadership of Mauritius Finance for their initiative to upskill professionals through various extensive programmes which he highlighted had made significant progress since July of last year.

Highlighting the fruitful collaboration between the public and private sectors in Mauritius, the Minister commented that “the relationship has never been so strong and since we came for the launch of Mauritius Finance in February, they have lived up to their promise to bring value to their members and to the economic development of the country, for which I express my gratitude.”

Importance of training in line with international standards

The Chairperson of Mauritius Finance, Mr Mahesh Doorgakant saw that, as the financial services industry grows and develops, it was imperative to train people in line with international standards. Moreover, he also noted that a number of advanced new financial products were being launched and brought into Mauritius, which makes it an attractive jurisdiction.

Mr Doorgakant also underlined that “we are on a specialisation journey and through the demands of our members, as a private sector, it is our responsibility to improve our labour force. We are looking forward to the collaboration of international partners of repute to train our people with the skills and capacity building they need in the fields of compliance, fund administration and corporate and trust administration”.

Bringing advance knowledge to the financial services sector

Mr Samade Jhummun, CEO of Mauritius Finance, also emphasised the organisation’s objectives in terms of capacity building by bringing advanced knowledge in areas relevant to the financial services sector. He explained that “we have been granted our training license by the MQA, and we needed to identify the needs of the industry which was greatly aided by a survey that we circulated to our members as well as international bodies. The findings of the survey were that training is required at all levels and that there is also a need for CPDs for professionals”.

In parallel, the survey has not only shed light on the needs and demands of the Mauritian market but has stimulated the objectives of Mauritius Finance to cater to those needs by partnering with various renowned international partners to provide the best-in-class extensive courses which have been customised as per the Mauritian laws and regulations, the CEO noted.

According to statistics, CISI is present in 72 jurisdictions with over 138 members in Mauritius. Mr Simon Culhane, CEO of CISI, who also participated in the event via a conference call, commented that he was delighted to be working with Mauritius Finance and to see all that they have achieved in such a short time. Furthermore, he commented that the content offered for continuous learning opportunities is relevant to the Mauritian market as it provides common characteristics for knowledge, skills and behaviour as a professional body for wealth management as well as the green agenda in particular.

Focus on AML/CFT, fund administration and fund accounting

Mr Jhummun also noted that the CISI extensive courses will facilitate AML/CFT assessment as the content is renewed every 6 months which he opines is “important for foreign directors as it is an initiative to access local information and regulations.” He also highlighted that another interesting course that is being offered in view of CPD is the Integrity Matters course, which is a professional refresher course aimed at helping professionals improve their knowledge on FinTech, soft skills, blockchain and conflict of interest. As per the GDPR regulations, there are 21 courses available for professionals to obtain a deeper understanding of a particular area and to stay up to date with industry developments.

The CEO also commented on the courses which CLT International will be offering, which are mainly focused on fund administration and fund accounting certificates, with over 340 enrolments, as well as an advanced certificate in fund administration and fund accounting with over 100 enrolments.

In terms of training opportunities in collaboration with STEP, a certificate in AML matters will be given upon the completion of a five month programme, for which there are already over 140 enrolments, as well as a CPD on automatic exchange of information for which there are over 40 enrolments since its launch last month.

On a concluding note, Mr Jhummun encouraged the industry players to take advantage of the extensive courses as they amount to less than Rs 1,000 after the HRDC refund, which will be beneficial to all those participating in capacity building initiatives.

For more information regarding the training courses being provided by Mauritius Finance please contact trainings@mauritiusfinance.com.