Financial sector underestimates need for upskilling and retraining
Staff is not a top priority
The increasing digitisation in society, especially in the financial sector, calls for retraining and upskilling of staff. This enables people either to remain relevant for their current employer or to find another job elsewhere. It is a responsibility of both employee and employer. Financial Services (FS) such as insurance companies, banks, capital markets and asset managers are automating and using more and more modern technologies. But what about the staff working in this sector? "The Financial Services Talent Trends report 2020 shows that the sector is lagging slightly behind when it comes to improving digital skills," says Bas van de Pas, People and Organisation and Financial Services partner at PwC.
FinTech and Big Tech
"FinTech and Big Tech will become an increasingly important part of the FS landscape over the next few years. The expectation is that, certainly within the next fifteen years, the FS sector will look different in terms of activities and therefore also in terms of jobs than it does now," says Vanessa van de Wiel, Director of People and Organisation and Financial Services at PwC. "The results of our survey of 400 respondents show that 64 percent expect Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data to increasingly form the basis of day-to-day decisions by 2030. In other words, a lot is going to be happening over the next few years", says Van de Wiel.
The Financial Services Talent Trends report 2020 also reveals that 61 percent of respondents believe banks will be transformed into IT businesses within a few years while the demand for soft skills will only increase. "People continue to play a crucial role in the application of technology, but especially in making a connection between colleagues and with customers."
High expectations
"The bar for companies within the FS sector is set high. Society expects these companies to keep pace with digital trends in particular – and preferably to lead the way. In addition, considerable pressure is coming from the financial markets to maintain or improve profitability," adds Van de Pas. This means that staff must be given a better digital education and that the focus must shift to other skills. There will also be job losses in the near future, as well as the creation of new roles and tasks, as we have seen in recent years.
The survey shows that 94 percent of those surveyed expect they will need to upskill in order to keep their job in the sector. "Upskilling is required so as to include staff in this trend or to retrain them so that they are prepared for another sector. This is true both from the point of view of taking care of staff and from a financial point of view."
Financial Services Talent Trends 2020
All the results of the survey and the current trends in FS can be read in Financial Services Talent Trends 2020.
Contact us
Follow us
