SLASSCOM endorses Investment Operations Certificate offered by CISI

The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM), the IT/ BPO industry chamber, has recently endorsed the Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) – also known as the Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ) offered by The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI).

SLASSCOM endorsed education programmes are the programmes that industry support as employment focused education. The Industry Endorsed Education initiative is part of the capacity building initiative undertaken by the Capacity Forum of SLASSCOM for the financial services sector in Sri Lanka.

In 2010, SLASSCOM and CISI entered into a MOU focusing on promoting CISI education qualifications to SLASSCOM member companies operating in the Sri Lankan financial service industry. CISI offers a range of special discounts for SLASSCOM companies under this agreement. The financial services sector is one of Sri Lanka’s niche focus areas for global sourcing targeted by SLASSCOM.

The Sri Lankan IT and BPO industry is projected to grow by 26% in 2011 with export earnings estimated at US$ 390 million for 2010.  Sri Lanka has set a target of US$ 1 billion revenue with employment of 100,000 by 2015 in the IT/ BPO industry. One of the key prerequisites for this growth to be realised is the acceleration of human resource capacity development in the industry. The CISI and SLASSCOM joint initiative is thus aimed at expanding the number of professionals available to the industry in the financial services sector.

The CISI is the leading examining, training and membership body for those working in the securities and investment industry, with over 40,000 members who benefit from its programme of professional and social events globally. SLASSCOM is Sri Lanka’s trade body representing IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. The CISI IOC certificate is a practitioner-led qualification for administration and operations staff working in financial services.

“We expect the endorsement of this CISI qualification by the industry will help increase the adoption of this global qualification by individuals who are looking to enter the fast growing financial services industry. The CISI qualification will help individuals take advantage of global opportunities in the securities and investment domain in Sri Lanka and globally,” SLASSCOM Vice President Madu Ratnayake said at the endorsement ceremony held recently.

CISI Country Head – Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius Arwa Tapia, said: “Our globally recognised qualifications have experienced a high uptake amongst BPO and IT companies in India and other key outsourcing areas. We are confident our Investment Operations Certificate as endorsed by SLASSCOM will contribute to the development of an adequately trained talent pool to meet the future challenges the industry holds.”

SLASSCOM acts as the catalyst of growth for the Sri Lankan IT and BPO industry by facilitating trade and business, propagation of education and employment, encouragement of research and innovation, and by supporting the creation of a progressive national policy framework. Follow @SLASSCOM on twitter or visit www.slasscom.lk for more information.

The CISI’s mission is to help members attain, maintain and develop their knowledge and skills and to promote the highest standards of ethics and integrity in the securities and investment industry. Evolved from the London Stock Exchange, we now have more than 40,000 members in 89 countries. In the past year we set almost 40,000 examinations in 49 countries, covering a range of vocational qualifications.

Based in the City of London, CISI is a global organisation with representative offices in financial centres such as Dublin, Singapore, Dubai and Mumbai.  We work in close cooperation with regulators, firms and other professional bodies worldwide.