Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

AKAM home

About AKAM

Year in Focus and Outlook

Country reviews

Microinsurance

Products for SMEs

Housing Finance

Training Academy

Contact information

Other AKDN agencies

Rss

Training Academy

Groups of loan officers are working to improve the loan appraisal process in Aswan, Egypt. The course for loan officers was successfully piloted in October 2009, and is now being deployed to the countries where there are AKAM institutions.AKAM’s training academy was created in 2008 to make a greater impact on poverty alleviation through skills training. The academy is a virtual campus that provides local, culturally sensitive, high-quality training in all the countries where AKAM works.

At the end of its first full year of operations, the training academy delivered courses in 12 countries, reaching over 1,030 employees with an induction programme of vocational training. The training academy uses a shared-learning model, combined with the practical application of concepts and skills to maximise impact. AKAM’s team is responsible for course development, planning and trainer education, while each country’s training department is responsible for utilising the resources in their plan to deliver training. Trainer capacity is critical; in the last year 62 trainers were certified using this programme.

This course provides a base level of knowledge on microfinance best practices and brings all employees into the global team with a common culture of innovation, client service and shared learning. AKAM has begun the process of developing a complete library of courses for each employee group to ensure competency. These courses, available in six languages, will be accessible to training departments in each country and will complement local job training. The training academy’s courses are designed to enhance the ability of staff to better understand concepts, think critically about how to improve processes and service, and translate concepts that are learned into practice.

AKAM's Training Academy plays an important role in inspiring employees in Tajikistan and in the other AKAM institutions to commit to the mission and its ethical precepts.In 2009, the course for loan officers was piloted and the development of the course for branch managers was initiated. These two courses are expected to impact the performance of AKAM’s operations. The courses deliver core skills training for each role matched with practical case study-based activities in the classroom. AKAM’s analysis found that while current job training allows employees to function, they may not understand the key concepts behind the numbers and the forms. Workshops for trainers who will be delivering the loan officer courses will begin in all countries in 2010. The branch manager course will become available to trainers in June 2010. The focus of the training academy in 2010 will be to deliver these core skills to all AKAM institution field staff in 13 countries.

To support the academy, three Regional Master Trainers in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa will start in January 2010. Their role will be to coordinate local training and ensure that training budgets and resources are used efficiently. Their focus will be to work in partnership with local training teams to build trainer capacity, deliver the new courses that have been deployed and act as advisors on local training issues. This capacity is critical so that more courses can be deployed and so that training frequency can increase to match the pace of growth.

AKAM’s training academy can strengthen the integrity and performance of the institution by developing a global team. There is a demand for motivated and skilled employees both for future growth and so that they can help alleviate poverty and improve quality of life in their communities. The training academy will be able to provide that high quality human resource capacity.