Gulf Bank gold sponsor of intensive youth financial training initiative
Program celebrates first class of graduates
KUWAIT: Gulf Bank is proud to be a gold sponsor of the Kuwait Economic Society’s first youth financial training initiative. The program, ‘Investing in Our Youth is Unique’ under the broader theme of ‘Our Gulf Deserves,’ seeks to train youth in the fields of investment, financial stock trading, as well as technical and news analysis.
Gulf Bank was represented by Khaled Al-Otaibi, Manager - Corporate Communications, at the awards ceremony for the first group of trainees. Otaibi said: “Gulf Bank strongly believes in supporting educational initiatives to help prepare our youth for successful careers. It has been a pleasure to see the students’ positive response to the trainings. The initiative was launched in November 2016 and runs until May 2017 and several groups will be taking part in the training. We thank the Kuwait Economic Society for creating this interesting and useful program.”
This unique investment development program is for college students who are enrolled in their third or fourth year of study in the fields of finance, accounting, business management, economics, and industrial engineering. Additionally, recent graduates in these fields are also eligible to apply to the program. The objective of this initiative is to prepare youth for successful careers, develop talent, as well as exchange experiences and improve teamwork.
This program is comprised of a series of practical and consultative sessions over a period of seven month. Three different classes of students have participated in the intensive investment training program. Participants are appraised on qualitative and quantitative evaluations, they are given a trial account of $50,000 for to engage in simulated trading. Those who excelled in the program and the trading are then selected to move onto a regional trading simulation exercise. Forty participants will be selected from Kuwait and those who excel will be awarded with a trip to the UAE or Qatar to share experiences and enhance their skills.
Each training session culminates in a forum to measure participants’ performance and to award the top performers. The first forum was conducted in January and focused on ways to invest in financial markets, with a focus on how to minimize risk. The second forum was conducted in February and explored investment opportunities to support youth in international markets. The third forum recently concluded and shed light on investment strategies in financial markets.
Kuwait Economic Society was founded in 1970 as a civil society institution and partner in the economic development process of the country. The Kuwait Economic Society works on reforming policies of the state, improving the competitiveness and transparency of the Kuwaiti economy. It also offers consulting, economic services, in addition to financial studies for public and private sectors. The Society also promotes cultural and economic awareness among members of the society, and enables generations of business professionals with the skills to build a knowledge-based society. The Kuwait Economic Society also focuses on the role of human capital in the development of civil society activities, particularly in the economic and financial fields; it also builds bridges with the international institutions and economic organizations. Gulf Bank is strongly committed to supporting educational and entrepreneurial initiatives for youth to help them build successful careers.