skills

March of the geeks

Today’s financial services employees need a very different skillset to that possessed by the bankers, lawyers and accountants traditionally associated with the industry

Words:

Steve Falla

A CENTRE FOR Finance Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) survey in 2021 stated that 60% of jobs in the financial services industry would require mid- to high-level digital skills, and 50% of the workforce would require reskilling by 2025 – with new job titles prevailing, such as data scientist, tech consultant and innovation manager.

In one sense, this presents something of a cultural clash for the established industry. But the signs are that Channel Islands financial institutions are moving in the right direction in their bid to navigate this new world.

That said, and while there are signs of transformation taking place, there is still some way to go.

“Sixty per cent sounds like a somewhat utopian position from digital soothsayers, but over the next seven to 10 years, there will continue to be seismic changes in the sector,” says Chris Clark, CEO of Prosperity 24/7.

GREAT MINDS

“The investment in upskilling is sadly lacking. People are investing in technology, but they are still fundamentally forgetting their most critical asset is their human resources – their great minds, their people,” Clark adds.

“It is a great frustration as a technologist to not see the fruition of people’s labours when they are implementing sizeable change projects but not realising them all the way through by giving colleagues the permission, time and the space to learn and be effective in their jobs.”

Martin Keelagher, Chief Executive Officer of Agile Automations, also sees a 2025 horizon as somewhat ambitious – and recognises that management understanding is a central factor in this transition.

“A digital skillset is now becoming a prerequisite of roles within a strategic, decision-making capacity; not always that they must have specialist skills themselves – such as coding and development – but rather the understanding of how the latest technology can be harnessed and fully embedded within the organisation, to make best use of fintech solutions,” he says.

“We have seen roles adapting to new ways of working and embracing technology within their everyday activity. This can be seen as automation with a robotic workforce embedded within organisations, releasing the true potential of the traditional workforce.”

People are investing in technology, but are still fundamentally forgetting their most critical asset – their human resources

Keelagher suggests that initially progress will be made by large organisations partnering with small, agile providers that can quickly scope, build and launch solutions, project by project – by combining business insight and technical expertise to turn business process dreams into reality.

In terms of the key job titles predicted in the CFTE Global Future Roles report, Clark acknowledges that data scientists are hard to find. “A true data scientist who really can look at disconnected data sets and draw intelligent insight from them is rare indeed,” he says. “If you can get one of those as an asset inside an organisation of any scale, they will be truly transformational.

“The broader aspect here is around the nurturing of digital natives and ensuring that we have a pipeline of talent that’s coming up into the workplace. Are we really seeing those people embraced, encouraged and nurtured within financial services businesses? I think it would be mischievous to say that we are. It’s quite frustrating,” says Clark.

He adds that one area of growth in the past three to five years has been the cyber domain, noting that, in the current geopolitical climate, cybersecurity is pervasive.

ROLE OF THE ROBOTS

Keelagher identifies another gap in the rollcall of emerging tech jobs. “A key role missing from this list is Head of Automations and Robotics, one of the fastest growing areas given the huge growth predictions for automations and the adoption of the robotic workforce. Many of these roles are intrinsic to each other and offer a very exciting look into the future. Departments are no longer treated in siloes. Rather, it will be a collaborative working environment.”

One of the consequences of inadequate investment in fintech is a lack of people with the right skills.

Keelagher says: “The demand for individuals with these skillsets will only continue to grow, forcing a highly competitive environment to become ever more so, especially when considering the global workforce and the often nomadic nature of technological work in a hybrid working environment.”

Clark adds: “Looking at our geography in the Channel Islands, the talent pipeline is by far the greatest challenge – having the ecosystem yet needing talent between the ages of 18 and 29 that simply is not there.

“There’s a huge amount of work and a very positive economic picture that is bucking the trend in the UK. The tech sector seems to be flourishing, thanks to all the investment we have seen from Digital Jersey and the Digital Greenhouse across the islands. The demand is there but being able to meet that demand is a challenge.”

ESG REPORTING

Clark sees huge potential if businesses are prepared to foster the right environment for creativity to flourish. “I can see technology moving into ESG reporting and analytics, because that’s going to be a critical dimension for every financial services business that is a listing entity.”

To some extent, the skills shortage is compounded by a reticence to change, he says. “The problem we often see is that people value current productivity – pushing a wheelbarrow with a square wheel up a hill – over engaging and informing their colleagues to be able to push a wheelbarrow with a round wheel up a hill.”

Keelagher agrees. “Employers are extremely serious in looking at how best to utilise the skillset of their teams and recognise the right individuals for the best roles. But this requires investment in HR processes and internal training, as well as giving teams time to explore new areas and the future of work.”

Both believe that HR and education have a part to play in producing the necessary innovation and creativity in the workforce.

INSPIRING YOUTH

Clark adds: “We don’t want robots; we can use robotics for that. We want to use the cognitive capability and almost the freedom of youth to inspire innovation. We need to be able to create a permissive culture to enable people to flourish.”

Keelagher suggests that organisational culture and the right approach to research and development are also critical.

“This needs to be carved out of the time for the ‘day job’, rather than be treated as something being done on the side of the desk. It needs to be embraced, taken seriously and integrated into the strategic goals and aspirations of the organisation.”

Clark believes that training cannot start too soon. “If we are parents, we need to make sure we inspire innovation and creative thinking. That is probably more fundamental to the education of youth, to ensure that they can be creative thinkers and that we are not producing sheep.”

Keelagher adds: “The effort to reduce the gap is now seen in schools from a young age, where coding is being taught in primary and secondary schools, while higher education is working to quickly adapt to the new demands of a digital workforce.

“But this is not limited to the education system. Many developers are self-taught and have taken it upon themselves to develop their own digital skillset, perhaps driven in part by seeing themselves as the next Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. Coding is now cool.” n

Departments are no longer treated in siloes. Rather, it will be a collaborative working environment