eFinancialCareers

It might not be the most glamorous facet of the financial sector, but if you want a job in a retail bank, employers are falling over themselves to take you on.

The Middle East is a land of new banks and mergers among existing ones. The establishment of Noor Islamic Bank kick-started 2007, for instance, and the merger of Emirates Bank and the National Bank of Dubai, also last year, created the behemoth that is Emirates NBD.

Local banks rule

The retail sector is primarily the domain of the local bank. Even though international banks like Barclays are looking to pinch a piece of the pie, the number of branches they can open is heavily restricted. What’s more, any branch managers must be nationals, so nurturing local talent is high on the agenda.

Samar El Gazar, managing director of recruiters Leaders Solutions, reckons there’s a particular focus on product development and marketing roles, as banks look to gain a competitive edge in a crowded marketplace.

Hiring heat wave

Hiring is reaching fever pitch, she says: “Local banks have always been more active in recruitment, especially since 2006 when a number of new players entered the market. There are many opportunities across the board from COO to tellers and customer services.”

One of Bahrain’s major players, BBK, has just announced plans to train 100 local people for entry-level jobs in retail banking. The fast-track course, called BD 160,000, will offer recruits two years of technical training.

Training up talent

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which is aiming for a 38% growth rate in 2008, has set its sights on hundreds of new recruits in the retail sector, and is also going down the graduate route because of a dearth of quality talent.

Omaimah Khoori, assistant manager of Emiratisation at the bank, says they are deluged with CVs daily, but very few come up to standard.

Meanwhile, Dubai Bank, which was launched in 2002, recruited 460 people through an in-house headhunting function in a bid to poach the best talent from local competitors.