The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology's Information Technology Institute (ITI) to qualify youth for working in the technology sector. The agreement was signed at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) in Nasr City. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, and Chairperson of NBE Hisham Okasha Talaat said that the ministry is preparing a future that supports the capabilities of young people and qualifies them to enter the market in light of labour and demand determinants, which supports young business owners to participate in the creation of the IT industry. Talaat stressed that his ministry provides all means of support needed by young people, such as training programmes or specialised scholarships in various fields needed by the labour market, in full coordination with the NBE in order to reduce the gap between academic studies and the actual needs of the labour market. On his part, Okasha indicated that, by signing the protocol, the NBE aims to hone the skills of young cadres in the field of information security, advanced creative designs, and data centres in cooperation with the ITI, with its benefit being reflected in various fields of work in the banking sector through banks seeking to achieve self-sufficiency in competencies trained in the latest technological methods. He added that this also comes from the bank's belief that investment in financial technology is one of the main pillars for the access of banking services to a larger segment of customers in the context of the growing interest of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to implement a digital transformation and support the banking system with distinguished cadres in the fields of technology, which is the cornerstone of the comprehensive development in the banking sector. This is what the NBE seeks to develop and invest in, whether by modernising the technological infrastructure to accommodate the successive progress in banking work or by training its human cadres to provide the highest quality rates in providing services banking. Okasha stressed that investing in the human element is one of the most important methods of advancing development, which the NBE believes in through its keenness to develop specialised skills and competencies for its human wealth, which is included in the bank's recently announced strategy. The event was also attended by Dalia Al-Baz, the Vice Chairperson of the NBE; Atef Helmy, the former communications minister and a Member of the non-executive Board of Directors of the NBE; Heba Saleh, the Head of the ITI; Hanan Al-Sheikha, the Head of the Human Resources Group; and Abeer Khader, the Head of the Information Security Sector at the NBE. Al-Baz said that the bank also seeks — through the cooperation protocol — to provide the competencies needed by the labour market and also allow the banking sector to benefit from the best cadres that will be rehabilitated within the framework of the protocol's activity, which is based on attracting cadres specialised in technological activity, whether in the field of cybersecurity or data centres, as well as in advanced designs to simulate customer experiences in the various headquarters of the bank. This, she says, is in line with the boom that the bank has achieved in the recent period in the field of fintech, which is indicated by the increasing number of customers of digital services in the bank and in support of the ambitious future plans it sets for expansion in those services. Al-Baz indicated that the protocol is implemented in two stages, with each stage dealing with specialised training programmes in one of the technological fields, which will be done by merging actual lectures or distance education according to the nature of each programme. Additionally, Saleh indicated that the protocol will allow the provision of specialised training programmes in the fields of cybersecurity and advanced technical designs, which is done in coordination with a number of specialised international companies that have successful experiences in implementing these programmes, maximising their benefit, especially in light of what it will be granting to those who acquire accredited international certificates in those fields. She added that after completing the training programmes and evaluating the participants, some competitions will be held among the trainees in order to make these programmes more competitive.
