The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) held its annual Tomorrow’s Regulatory Leaders (TRL) Awards ceremony last night. The purpose of the awards is to congratulate Emirati employees who have completed the DFSA’s two-year TRL Programme.

The programme prepares newly graduated UAE Nationals to become financial services regulators. A combination of in-house training and coaching by experts from international financial centres and examinations from the Securities and Investments Institute (UK) makes the TRL Programme a unique development programme. Graduates join as TRL Associates and over the two years undergo over 400 hours of class room training along with on-job coaching from their more experienced DFSA colleagues.

Mr Abdullah Saleh, Chairman of the DFSA said, “The DFSA is investing in developing young Emiratis to become leaders in the area of financial services regulation. To date, the TRL Programme has produced five managers and currently has eleven individuals on the programme. UAE nationals make up sixteen percent of DFSA’s regulatory workforce. We are very proud of the results of this programme and will continue our efforts to deliver sustainable and enduring benefits to Emiratis, by equipping them for long-term career advancement and future leadership.”

Ninety five percent of the programme is written and delivered by DFSA regulators with training material being updated every year to reflect changes in legislation and the market environment. In addition, each graduate is assigned a coach who helps the graduate understand the job they are assigned to do. In so doing, the graduate benefits from their coach’s wealth of regulatory experience and their international perspective.

Mr Paul Koster, Chief Executive of the DFSA said, “The awards not only celebrate the success of our young Emirati colleagues, but also recognise the considerable efforts and enthusiasm shown by our TRL trainers and coaches. In line with our core regulatory mission, the TRL Programme is one of our most important strategic initiatives. We place great importance on developing the next generation of regulatory leaders.”