- Moves beyond metros to set up centres in Ahmedabad, Pune
- Partners with 3 leading banks to train their employees
- First batch of over 400 students join ICICI Bank as ‘Officers’
New Delhi, August 6, 2007: The Institute of Finance, Banking & Insurance (IFBI), an NIIT initiative, has extended to markets beyond the metros, to foster skilled manpower for the financial services sectors. The institute has set up new centres in Ahmedabad and Pune and added two more in Delhi NCR, taking the total tally to 10 education centres across the country, in the first year of operations.
IFBI has also extended its portfolio by partnering with three leading banks, in addition to the ICICI Bank, in the country. Through these partnerships, IFBI conducted training programs for new and existing employees of the banks on the basics of banking and core banking software solution.
According to Dr. Smarajit Dey, President—Strategic Initiatives, NIIT, “The rapidly growing banking and financial services sector in India is faced with an acute shortage of talent. NIIT’s IFBI is focussed at developing talent for the industry by grooming entry-level candidates and re-skilling existing professionals. The institute will extend its offerings to reach out to a large untapped market, beyond metros.”
The Banking industry currently employs nine lakh people and is expected to add another 6 lakh professionals with skillsets in this segment, in the next 4-5 years.
IFBI’s first offering, the 6-month comprehensive program—Post Graduate Diploma in Banking Operations (PGDBO) catering to the manpower needs of the banking sector, met with good response both from the industry and the student community. Over 400 students of its PGDBO program have joined country’s second largest bank, the ICICI Bank, as ‘Officers’.
Highlighting the success of the program, Mr. S. Venkatesh, Head, IFBI said, “I am happy to see IFBI students get the opportunity to work with India’s largest private bank. In addition to the first batch of 403 IFBI students placed, another 500 students are currently undergoing internship at the bank. The initial success of the program has resulted in 100% increase in enrolment for IFBI, in the first quarter of the current financial year.”
Set up with equity participation from ICICI Bank, IFBI is supported by the bank in designing the curriculum, developing the course content, and offering laboratory and Internship sites to students. ICICI Bank also grants Education Loans to students selected for the institute’s training program.
The institute now has a network of education centres in eight cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune. The new centres have come at Sangam Bridge, Pune; C. G. Road, Ahmedabad; Rajouri Garden in New Delhi and Gurgaon.