Jardine Human Capital, a London and UAE-based boutique executive search company, has set up its UAE operations in Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV).

It has become the first company in DKV to specialise in the recruitment and retention of talent within the Islamic economy sector, said a company statement.

The announcement was made at a reception hosted at the Mussawir Art Gallery, with a backdrop of some of the best Islamic art and calligraphy in the world.

This comes in line with DKV’s support to Dubai leadership's vision to make it the capital of the world’s $8 trillion Islamic economy in just three years.

Abdulla Al Awar, the CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre gave the opening remarks at the event attended by a high calibre of Islamic economy industry leaders, including: Dr Ayoub Kazim, the managing director of Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village; Tayeb Al Rais, the secretary general at Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation; Saleh Lootah, the CEO and managing director of Al Islami Foods; Alia Khan, the founder of the Islamic Fashion Design Council and Dr Sayd Farook, the global head of Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters.

Dubai’s strategy to become the capital of the Islamic economy in three years, which was launched in October 2013, is based on seven pillars.

These pillars include the establishment of Dubai as an international centre for Islamic finance, Halal industries, Halal tourism, the Islamic digital economy, the capital of Islamic art and design, a centre for Islamic economy standards and certification, and international centre for Islamic information and education.  

Dr Ayoub Kazim said: "Demand for skilled workforce in the fields of Islamic economy has never been higher, and as a centre for the region’s education and training institutes, we have an important role to play to ensure the future success of the sector and to nurture the human capital needed to meet the sector’s expected growth."

"Today, the UAE sits in third position for the best education infrastructure to provide Islamic finance education, with 31 course providers and 9 degree providers, which is ahead of the US, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. We will continue to work towards further improving this position," he remarked.

"There will be an increasing focus on excellence in all aspects of employment, and this will be particularly true for those working within the sectors of Islamic economy," noted Dr Kazim.

"To prepare for this, we will need to support those sectors by developing talent to become at the level of specialism and sophistication that is required by employers. Jardine Human Capital clearly realises the market needs for trained manpower in this industry, and we are proud to support them," he added.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Islamic financial assets are growing 17 per cent per year and are set to reach $2.67 trillion by 2017. It is estimated that $87-124 billion could potentially enter the UAE Islamic banking system by 2015, creating approximately 7,800 new jobs at Islamic banks if the current asset concentration ratios remain similar.

Additionally, 500 jobs will be created in other Islamic financial services segments. By 2015, the Islamic financial services sector will double in size from 10,000 employees currently to 20,000.

In that sense, the findings of the Workforce Planning Study, which was commissioned by Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) and conducted by Deloitte, revealed that dedicated Islamic banking skills are the highest skills in demand amongst GCC banks.

Azhar A. Mirza, the CEO of Jardine Human Capital, said: “I am delighted that Jardine Human Capital has set up its operations in DKV, as we both want to be seen as a vital and integral part of the Islamic economy. Jardine's sole purpose is to find the best talent in the world in the Islamic space, and then developing that talent. Our aim is help to create the world’s biggest companies, but those based on Islamic values and principles."

"There is a great need among employers in the Islamic space for the best talent who are able to run the organisations, which will contribute to making Dubai the centre of the Islamic economy. DKV’s efforts towards turning Dubai into the world’s Islamic economy capital are highly significant, and we aim to support them by providing the best and most talented Islamic economy experts both from the UAE and around the world," he added.

Jardine Human Capital is dedicated to sourcing professionals in the Middle East, Africa and emerging markets for the Islamic economy value chain.

It covers various pillars of Islamic economy, including Halal food, Halal lifestyle, family travel, entrepreneurship, Islamic infrastructure and Islamic finance.-TradeArabia News Service