Accreditation

Since 2012, all HKIB’s Professional Qualification Programmes (PQPs) have been accredited through Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA) exercises conducted by the statutory accrediting body, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) which are pitched at QF Levels 4 to 6 under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF).   Through accreditation, we manifest the Institute’s enduring strength in delivering training programmes with a very high standard of quality.  In 2020, the HKIB stepped forward being appointed as a Professional Qualifications Assessment Agency (PQAA) by the Secretary for Education (SED) for HKIB’s nine Professional Qualifications which are recognised under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) and registered in the Qualifications Register (QR).  The appointment of PQAA by SED demonstrates HKIB’s capability of delivering outstanding standard of professional qualification assessment in the Banking industry in Hong Kong.

Types of Accreditation

1. Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA)    

Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA) is an overall evaluation of a learning programme to determine whether its planning and management, syllabuses, delivery arrangements and assessment methods are able to achieve its proposed objectives and deliver its intended learning outcomes.  All of the PQPs of HKIB are pitched at QF Levels 4 to 6 under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) after conducting Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA) by the HKCAAVQ.  Learners will be awarded a QF-recognised Certificate/Diploma upon completion of the training and passing the assessment.

In addition to offering three Certified Banker programmes, the HKIB has strengthened its support to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) by providing a widened portfolio of ECF programmes.  Following the launch of the ECF programme in 2017, the HKIB has further introduced various ECF programmes as shown in the table below.  All ECF programmes are accredited by the HKCAAVQ with professional standard, while additional ECF programmes will be launched in due course.

The following table shows all of the PQPs which have been accredited and are recognised under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF):

^ As of 2016, the Postgraduate Diploma for Certified Banker is the first and only Specification of Competency Standards (SCS) based banking qualification pitched at QF Level 6 under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF).  This is considered to be equivalent to the level of a Master’s degree.

^# As of 2018, the Professional Certificate for ECF on Retail Wealth Management (RWM) is the first and only Vocational Qualifications Pathway (VQP) based banking qualification pitched at QF Level 5 under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF).  This is considered to be equivalent to the level of a Bachelor’s degree.  For further details about the VQP, please visit the website of QFS.

For further details about the Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA), please visit the website of the HKCAAVQ.

2. Accreditation of Assessment Agencies for Professional Qualifications (AAPQ)    

The Accreditation of Assessment Agencies for Professional Qualifications (AAPQ) is a scheme to take forward the alignment of professional qualifications under the HKQF.  Through successful accreditation and appointment as an assessment agency, selected professional qualifications of local awarding bodies would be recognised under the HKQF.  The accredited Professional Qualifications Assessment Agency (PQAA) appointed by the Secretary for Education (SED) is eligible to provide qualifications including professional qualifications, occupation-based qualifications, licence-related qualifications, and trade tests, etc.

The HKIB has been appointed to be Professional Qualifications Assessment Agency (PQAA) with effect from 1 August 2020.  In accordance with the Guidance Notes of AAPQ by the HKCAAVQ, the roles of an appointed PQAA are:

• To assess the knowledge, skills and experience acquired by individuals in relation to a profession or industry; and
• To issue the Professional Qualifications it has developed and operates in recognition of such assessed knowledge, skills and experience.  The qualifications selected for accreditation would be recognised under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) and registered in the QR.

The training, assessment and certification process for both LPA and AAPQ remain the same.  The major difference is that the recognition under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) lies at the Programme Level or Professional Qualification Level.  For LPA, learners will be awarded a QF-recognised Certificate/Diploma upon completion of the training and passing the assessment.  For AAPQ, candidates will be awarded a QF-recognised Professional Qualification upon completion of the training and passing the assessment as well as fulfilling HKIB’s required working experience.

The following table shows the Institute’s nine Professional Qualifications which are recognised under the HKQF and registered in the Qualifications Register (QR).

For further details about the recognition of Professional Qualifications under the HKQF, please visit the website of the Qualifications Framework (QF);

For further details about the accreditation of AAPQ, please visit the website of the HKCAAVQ.

Please click HERE to FAQ related to AAPQ for further details.

During the transitional period, we offer different options for different Professional Qualifications based on the programme structure and the learning status of the learners.  For learners who have enrolled and started the training before AAPQ, special transitional arrangement for different Professional Qualifications will be offered.  For more details, please refer to the transitional arrangement details for each Professional Qualification which will be available on the HKIB website in late August 2020.  Please stay tuned.