300+ BOV employees finalise studies in MQF Levels 5 and 6 over 3 years
During the past three years, circa 300 BOV employees have successfully completed one or more of various qualifications which the Bank offers its employees through the BOV Learning & Development Centre. All Awards offered are recognised by the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority and are qualified under the Maltese Qualified Framework in MQF Levels 5 and 6.
The Bank celebrated the success of these employees during a Graduation Ceremony which was the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the event, BOV employees who completed their studies between 2020 and 2022 were presented with the Certificate of Merit.
As explained by Dr Tania Camilleri who heads the Unit, the Level 5 qualifications range from technical to leadership and personal development. The Award in Investments, Award in Credit for Business Finance and Award in Credit for Retail Banking are programmes that meet the technical exigencies of the business whilst the Award in Management & Leadership, Award in Personal Development and Award in Train the Trainer cater for the professional and personal development.
A cursory look at the numbers, shows that there is a strong presence of female employees among those who chose to further their studies over the past three years. In fact, 71% of the BOV employees who graduated were females. This is even higher than the 59.5% of female population among the BOV workforce.
During his opening speech, BOV Chairman Dr Gordon Cordina emphasised that learning, and the possibility to pass on knowledge to others, enrich life and career experiences. “This calls upon us to be Curious and Ambitious – striving to learn something new every day. Secondly, we need to be Competent, using the best possible learning and coaching resources and approaches.” Finally, added Dr Cordina “we need to approach learning with Humility, grateful for opportunities to improve ourselves and generous in sharing our knowledge with colleagues.”
In his address, BOV CEO Mr Kenneth Farrugia said that he was delighted to see over 300 employees pursuing their career ambitions by strengthening their knowledge, skills and capabilities through the Bank’s Training Academy. “The Bank is firmly committed, to develop and nurture the talent of its employees by providing them with a suite of training programs to service the requirements of the business and its customers in the most professional manner” said Mr Farrugia.
Whilst praising the commitment and drive of the employees present for this event, the Bank’s CEO also announced, that BOV will continue to incentivise further education and development amongst its people, by offering grants related to further studies with external educational institutions. These incentives will also cover employees that have applied for external training programs during this financial year that also complement various existing benefits, including study loans and study leave.
The bank will be shortly announcing further details in this regard.
Dr Tania Camilleri said that due to the ever-evolving financial services industry, training methodologies need to be updated constantly. She mentioned that the Bank adopted the 70-20-10 model in a number of courses this year. This model recognises that 70% of knowledge is gained through working experience, 20% through mentoring and coaching and only 10% through formal learning. This approach ensures that participants retain a higher percentage of knowledge following the classroom training.
“Ultimately, the goal of the Bank’s Learning & Development function is simple,” concluded Dr Camilleri. “Our aim is to develop the talents and grow the competencies of our people. This is a direct investment in them and in the quality of service offered to our customers.”