Press Release
CIBN RELAUNCH MENTORING SCHEME TO ADDRESS GAPS IDENTIFIED IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY
February 18, 2021: The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has relaunched its mentoring scheme to mold and transform the minds of the young professionals in the banking industry.
Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, President/Chairman of Council of the Institute made the call while delivering his remarks at the virtual CIBN Relaunch Mentoring Scheme with them: ‘Mentoring: Unlocking Career Potentials and Possibilities’.
Mr. Olugbemi told over eight hundred participants who connected to the event across the globe through Zoom and YouTube that the Institute has identified mentoring as a potent tool for bridging the gap between learning and doing to uphold ethics and professionalism which is the hallmark of the banking Industry, accomplished, experienced bankers need to mentor the young and upcoming ones in order to sustain the ideals of our industry.
CIBN President said that the CIBN Mentoring Programme relaunch was necessitated because the scheme has been fortified and enriched with more features for the benefit of participants. The enhanced scheme which runs on a mobile responsive, user-friendly application went live on June 17, 2020 with over 600 Mentors and Mentees nominated by Managing Directors of banks in Nigeria.
In other way round, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda who was the Special Guest at the event advised bankers to explore the CIBN mentoring scheme to mentoring the upcoming one. He said that their commitment to mentoring the younger generation would go a long way in ensuring the sustainability, safety and soundness of the banking industry.
He added that for one to be a successful professional, such a one must be ambitious willing to go the extra mile, must try to be a value enhancer and must be outstanding. He or she must be teachable and willing to learn from other persons who are deemed successful in the same career path.
"To the young bankers, I enjoined you to make the best use of this rare opportunities! I am confident that with the corporation of all stakeholders, the CIBN mentoring scheme will be a point of reference for others," he said.
According to him, it is critical for young bankers to be mentored by seasoned senior colleagues as they progress in their careers because the banking profession is predicated on trust and professionalism. He said that these values could be taught but are actually reinforced when demonstrated by senior bankers and emulated by their younger colleagues.
In his intervention, former Company Secretary, FBN Holdings Plc, Mr Tijani Borodo who maintained that professionals in the banking industry must imbibe in good attributes in their profession and in their personal lives. He also said that for you to be a banker, you must have good character; a trustworthy and honesty, and if you have that, the banking industry and the regulators must ensure there is professionalism, capacity and competency in you and all others in the banking industry.
The Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Mrs Nneka Okekearu, who was the Guest Speaker at the event said that mentoring is a reciprocal and collaborative at-will relationship that most often occurs between a senior and junior employee for the purpose of the mentee’s growth, learning, and career development.
She stated that mentoring scheme will benefit mentees in many areas such as new skills and knowledge; support from an impartial advisor, a higher professional profile, better career progression, increased institutional knowledge and understanding of how the organisation works, how things get done and greater awareness of other approaches to work.
For there to be a perfect mentoring, there must be trust in the process, they must trust that we are not using it for appraisal and that the conversation stays between the two parties. There must also be impact! that is, something that we are working towards and if you do not see that taking part, then you begin to question whether anything took place, she said.
She said that there must be partnership between the mentor and mentees so that the desired objectives would be achieved. Mentors provide a safe environment in which employees can reflect introspectively without being judged and provide accurate feedback rather than advice.
In conclusion, Mrs. Okekearu listed the imperatives for the success of mentoring scheme in acronym (TIPSCT): T – Trust, I – Impact, P- Partnership, S – Skills Enhancement, C – Collaboration, T – Track
Mr. John Obaro, founder and CEO of Systemspacs; Mrs. Lowo-Adesola Oluyemisi Abidemi, MD/Head, Financial Institution Africa, Standard Chartered Bank Ltd; Ms. Opeyemi Oduwole, Country Head, Private Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Ms Chinwe Egwim, Senior Economist, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Mrs. Bukola Oluyadi, Ag. Grou Head, Customer Value Management & Strategic Communication, Polaris Bank ltd were the other Speakers at the event.
Thank you for using this release
Nelson Olagundoye
Head, Corporate Communication & External Relations
