Half of UK financial services workers consider career change

According to research by KPMG and the Financial Services Skills Commission, despite the prospect of a challenging job market, a third of financial services workers (31 per cent) said they will be looking for new roles within the year. 

The desire for a career change seems to be a trend across the UK’s workforce, with 46 per cent of workers across all industries considering new roles as a result of the pandemic. 

Among those financial services workers looking for a career change, 13 per cent said they would not choose the sector again for their next career move – rising to 16 per cent of 18-30-year-olds. Those who said they wouldn’t work in the sector again cited long hours (15 per cent), long commutes (13 per cent) and heavy regulation (9 per cent) as key factors driving their decision.

"As we spend more time at home away from our colleagues and offices, it makes sense that many will be questioning their current roles and choices – and what the future might hold. With so many considering a career change, financial services must take this time to promote itself positively and wipe the slate clean when it comes to the associations people make with it, if it is to be genuinely competitive for talent," said Karim Haji, head of financial services, KPMG UK.

Positively, some of the work on this is already underway, Mr Haji opined. 

"The pandemic has spurred many financial services firms to make positive changes and ditch some of their more conservative employee policies in line with other sectors. This will go far in tackling misperceptions of the industry and help it attract more diverse employees, as well as retain current talent,” he said.

The survey also revealed that the financial services sector has retained its reputation for strong remuneration and career progression. Competitive salaries (54 per cent) and good employee benefits, such as insurance and private healthcare (35 per cent), were listed by employees as top drivers towards the sector.

Among under 30s, a third (31 per cent) said that progression opportunities were a key attribute attracting them to the sector. 

However, there is an opportunity for employers in financial services to invest further in their employees’ skills. Just 15 per cent of those working in the industry listed good training as a motivator to remain, indicating that financial services firms aren’t doing enough to upskill their staff as digitisation of the sector gains pace.

"Financial services has a skilled and committed workforce who have responded rapidly and effectively to different ways of working. Growing skills gaps still pose a threat to future competitiveness, and there is more to do to increase training and development for existing staff and improve perceptions among potential employees," said Claire Tunley, CEO of the Financial Services Skills Commission.

Ms Tunley suggested that the sector has a real opportunity to learn from the experience of the pandemic to create a strengthened employee offering, building on its existing reputation for good pay and progression. 

"This will be key to securing talent over the coming months and years. If they want their talent to have the skills they need to deliver the best outcomes for businesses, employers will need to match new digital ways of working with increased investment in training," she said.