SEBI pitches in to train professionals

The National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), sponsored by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is planning to offer full-time MBA and PhD programmes to train professionals for the securities market. It's probably the world's first instance of a capital market regulator doing its bit to train professionals for the securities market.

While the economy and stock markets have been booming, they have been accompanied by an acute shortage of skilled manpower in stock exchanges, investment banks and brokerage houses -- resulting in rising wages and high attrition rates. NISM's initiative plans to address this issue by training more people in this area.

"We are soon planning to offer MBA and PhD (research) programmes in the securities market," said Prof G Sethu, Officer on Special Duty, in-Charge of NISM. Though no timeframe has been set, it is expected the institute will be able to start offering the programmes as early as next year.

Some of the activities of NISM include skill upgradation for existing professionals in the securities industry, competency building in the regulatory staff, educational courses in securities markets and investor education and financial literacy.

To set up the institute, SEBI has bought more than 60 acres of land lying close to the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway from the Maharashtra government recently. The regulator plans to buy more land for the purpose soon.

"Last year, we made presentations about the institute to officials from the corporate and financial sectors to create awareness about the institute. Going forward, if required, the institute may raise funds from corporate houses," said Sethu.

The institute plans to recruit 60-70 faculty members and will be tying up with foreign institutes as well. Senior professors from foreign universities and professionals working in the securities industry abroad would be teaching faculties in the institute.

Simultaneously, NISM plans to tie-up with 200-300 schools in the next couple of months to provide financial literacy programmes to children studying in classes 8th-10th.

By the end of the year the students will be given a certificate of participation. "Students would not have to give any exams. But by the end of the year we will be giving them a certificate of participation as we believe even young children have the habit of saving money," he said.

Incidentally, the Unit Trust of India (UTI)-established Indian Institute of Capital Markets (IICM) -- which currently offers similar full-time PG programmes for securities market professionals -- will be eventually merged with NISM, according to Sethu.