The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) is launching what it claims to be the country’s first “Blockchain Academy,” according to an announcement published Nov. 26.

The BIBF was established in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1981 by approval of the Specific Council for Vocational Training. The institute is an unregistered non-profit semi-government entity that provides training in the financial sector.

The establishment of the Blockchain Academy purportedly marks the country’s first blockchain professional qualification program offering. The training program is designed to prepare participants to earn the international qualification of Certified Blockchain Professional C|BP and was developed by the BIBF and Dubai-based training firm MyLearning Key.

The C|BP Certification purportedly comprises of three competency areas in blockchain technology; development, implementation, and strategy. BIBF Director Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh said that the organization introduced the Blockchain Professional Qualification to “support the growing demand for skilled blockchain professionals.”

Ahmed Naeemi, the Head of IT, Operations and Project Management, said that the new initiative aims to support businesses and organizations as they adopt new technologies like blockchain.

In September, the government of Bahrain stressed the importance of blockchain technology for the country’s economy, also urging cybersecurity vigilance. Abdulhussain Mirza, Bahrain’s minister of electricity and water affairs, stated that “technologies such as blockchain take us a huge step forward in finding a secure way to facilitate transactions.”

As Cointelegraph recently reported, multisectoral blockchain company Bitfury partnered with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics to create an accelerator for blockchain projects. In addition to helping develop blockchain projects, the university will provide educational programs dedicated to “training specialists who are able to create innovative projects using digital technologies in a short time.”

The University of Tokyo will also launch a blockchain course following a donation of nearly $800,000 from several companies, including Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) and the Ethereum Foundation. The course is focused on the development of decentralized solutions, their social implementation, and human resources.