We are now into the third month of 2022, how the year has flown by already!
We once again thank you for your continued support and are pleased to report that we are now well on the road to recovery after the devastating effect that Covid-19 on so many businesses (ourselves included) and have listed below a few of our achievements over the past few months:-
Our CPD Platform(Continuing Professional Development) went live in February. We have seen a lot of interest from banks and companies wishing to list their courses and have listed 36 new and approved courses in the past few weeks.
Our website upgrade is now complete and will undergo further testing in the new, easy to access and informative format over the next week or so. This is the first step in digitising our offering.
We have signed up approximately 1000 new members through Standard Bank who are committed to the ongoing development and growth of their Universal Bankers. We have meetings scheduled with other stakeholders (Q1-Q2) to discuss a similar arrangement. It is certainly encouraging that some banks are acknowledging the importance of our drive to professionalise the industry and we hope to see more of them willing to invest in their people by sponsoring memberships and focussing on Continuous Professional Development in 2022. We are very excited to partner with Standard Bank and are pleased that they are leading the way in this regard.
Our Advocacy Programme is in the final testing stage and going live this month. We would be interested to hear from members who would like to recommend content for inclusion in our Knowledge Centre.
We have established a collaborative relationship with the well respected Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland (CIB). They are featured on our website and will provide content that is interesting and relevant to the financial services industry. They have also provided us with two free courses for our members to access. We have also initiated contacted with the CIB in Nigeria and will be looking for a similar type of relationship. We will continue to reach out to other international organisations with a view to exposing our members to different views.
Look out for our Webinar planned for late March/April and our AGM (April/May). Both will be advertised on our website and social media.
We received an unqualified audit in February 2022 with the auditor commenting positively on the turnaround and the investment of our income back into membership initiatives. Our team have really outdone themselves in this regard. We are seeing good traction on our income drives on lines other than membership, which remains our biggest income contributor.
Some of the other achievements are the newly listed opportunity for members to mentor students/learners (Obzee Cares) and special offers (i.e. discounted conferences). For more information on the services, we offer, please browse through our website.
With our improved offering and as a Non-Profit Company, we are needing to attract more members and we would certainly appreciate your support and influence in getting the word out there to encourage colleagues to join. As the sole professional body in this industry in South Africa and with a proud history dating back to 1904, we need to tap into the large numbers in the industry and the value we can mutually add to each other.
We continue to work on expanding and enhancing our offering and look forward to hearing any suggestions you may have.
Sharron Veldsman AIB(SA)
Chief Executive Officer
