Do you know your Mudaraba from your Musharaka? With the Islamic finance industry going through the roof, now may be the time to learn.

“There’s a significant shortage of skills in the Islamic finance industry generally,” says Bill Allum, a senior consultant at finance-focused recruitment firm Napier Scott. “Whichever aspect you look at, demand is outstripping the number of skilled practitioners available.”

Allum says the launch of the world’s first secondary market for Sharia compliant bonds in London is set to increase demand for both structurers and traders of Sharia-compliant instruments. The market has already grown dramatically – the Financial Times reported recently that the number of trades in London’s sukuk, or Sharia-compliant bond market, rose to about 1bn in January, up from a trickle in December.

Where will the additional staff come from? “The retraining of bond traders is the most obvious avenue on trading,” predicts Allen. But he says structurers of Sharia-compliant products are more likely to come from a legal than a derivatives structuring background.

Who’ll train you?

Hijazi Samer, an Islamic finance specialist at KPMG, points to the growing number of courses designed to train financiers in Islamic instruments.

The Securities & Investment Institute launched an Islamic Finance Qualification last year, and expects to train between 200 and 500 candidates globally in 2007. A spokeswoman for the Institute says the course should apply to sales staff working for Islamic banks, or for banks with Islamic banking arms, as well as to accountants and lawyers.

The Accounting & Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions also offers a qualification – the ‘Certified Islamic Public Accountant’.

A move into the sector could prove lucrative – Allum says Islamic finance specialists are already paid on a par with structured credit professionals. And this could be about to rise.