New report on IFS Sector Skills Needs

8th December 2015

Three quarters of international financial services (IFS) companies will be hiring more staff in the next three years, and nine out of ten companies in the sector believe recruitment will become a significant issue for them. That’s according to a new report, ‘A Skills Needs Analysis for the International Financial Services sector in Ireland – 2015’ published by Summit Finuas Network, in association with Accenture.

The report was conducted to develop a comprehensive and representative understanding of the people capability challenges and key skills needs facing IFS companies in Ireland. Indicating that the IFS sector is set to create a significant number of new jobs in the coming three years, the report is seen as a major boost to government plans to grow the sector by 10,000 net jobs between now and 2020.

Speaking at the launch of the report in November, Minister of State for International Banking (including IFS) Simon Harris, T.D. said: “I welcome this feedback from the business community as a vote of confidence in our resurgent economy and an endorsement of the growth potential of the financial services sector. More so, it highlights the pressing need of a clear and comprehensive view of the future skills needs in order to effectively target resources and future investment to best effect.”

Ireland has a thriving IFS sector and Government plans for a further 10,000 net new jobs by 2020 will bring challenges, among them ensuring that there is an adequate supply of the necessary skills to meet anticipated demand. Sixty-one percent of IFS companies surveyed mentioned that acquiring the required skills set is important for enhanced growth.

While Ireland is well regarded internationally as a competitive location for IFS investments, the report indicates that the skills challenge must be overcome to retain and grow its position. Almost 60% of companies surveyed identified regulatory changes as a key trend driving the skills gap, while over 30% identified advancements in technology as impacting on skills shortages. Other factors to consider include growing international competition for IFS investment, demographic and geopolitical trends, and the impact of emerging markets.

Summit Finuas Network Manager Brian McMahon said the industry was going through fundamental change. “Ireland’s IFS sector is moving up the value chain. These changes will not only impact on the types of products and services offered by financial services companies, they will also challenge the very basis on which companies can compete.”

While there is no guarantee that today’s leading financial services companies will continue to dominate the market, there is every reason to expect that the skills and competencies that IFS companies require from their workforce will be very different from those required today.

This report highlights a number of key recommendations for the industry if it is to remain globally competitive:

Ensure availability of skills personnel to enable continued growth of IFS sector
Organisation of a specific skills needs analysis
Collaboration between IFS and ICT sectors on programme development in the areas of Fintech and Data Analytics
Partner with educational institutes
Align organisations’ talent and learning strategies with business goals
Identify and develop in-house talent
Leverage the new IFS “brand banner” as a great place to work
Develop well-formed employee value propositions to attract and retain key talent

Download the full report here.

Pictured at the launch of ‘A Skills Needs Analysis for the International Financial Services sector in Ireland – 2015’ (L-R): Marc Coleman, Financial Services Ireland, Simon Harris T.D. Minister of State for International Banking (including IFS), Carl Blake, Skillnets and Alastair Blair, Accenture.