KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked all banks to ensure proper training of their employees to meet new challenges, saying it will assess their compliance after December 31.

The central bank on Friday issued Guidelines for Training and Development of Bank Employees with an aim to provide employees a continuous learning atmosphere.

Banks were advised to prepare a comprehensive training and development policy duly approved by their boards of directors for all major functional areas. It should cover processes related to training needs assessment (TNA) and the selection of employees for a specific training programme.

“Banks are required to implement these guidelines by Dec 31, 2016, after which the SBP will assess their compliance during the course of on-site inspections,” said the central bank.

The SBP said banks are required to pay due attention to the training and development needs of their employees. “The ever-changing banking environment coupled with technological advancements further puts stress on the importance of improved skills, capabilities and knowledge of a bank employee,” said the SBP.

The guidelines further elaborate that the training and development budget of banks should specifically be made part of an overall budget document to be discussed and approved by the boards of directors on an annual basis.

The training and development budget may ideally be linked with the overall size and complexity of operations of a bank or with a certain percentage of administrative expenses.

The SBP suggested that the human resources committee of the board should be assigned the responsibility of monitoring the utilisation of the training and development budget and the implementation of the approved training and development policy. It has also been advised that banks should focus on the training of employees posted at branches in remote or rural areas.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016