FDM Group’s report shows that up to 75% of UK financial industry personnel lack digital skills.
Strategic personnel solutions partner FDM Group has shown that a sizable percentage of the financial services industry is being hampered by a lack of digital capabilities.
Up to 75% of UK workers think their company has had trouble filling positions needing digital skills. This percentage increased to 83% of workers between the ages of 18 and 24, preventing the UK from overtaking other nations in science and technology.
The results come from a survey of 250 decision-makers at UK banks and financial institutions conducted by independent polling organization Censuswide with the objective of determining how the present skills shortage is affecting the financial services sector.
Ninety one percent of employees think that having better digital abilities would help their organization implement technology. Since so many people share this opinion, the study emphasizes the need for more training and upskilling opportunities so that organizations can fully utilize developing technologies.
The census also showed that 86% of employees agreed that their company prioritized staff development and digital skills, with this number climbing to 92% of women.
“The industry is being held back by a lack of tech-savvy staff”
“Tech skills are essential across all industries, especially financial services with the increasing adoption in areas like AI and analytics,” said Sheila Flavell CBE, chief operating officer of FDM Group. The industry’s inability to successfully deploy new technology and the subsequent growth of many financial services firms are both being hampered by a shortage of tech-savvy people.
“While employees may feel that their organizations place a high priority on training, it is obvious that more needs to be done to support those who want to learn new skills, and a new strategy should be used to guarantee that people are receiving the essential training, skills, and reskilling.
“Technology may offer enormous benefits to organizations, making it possible to simplify processes, improve services, and streamline overall operations. Government and industry must work together to rethink how they teach and train the populace in digital skills in order to use the advantages of the available technology if the UK is to achieve its aim and establish itself as a global science and technology superpower.
“Offering a wider pool of staff the opportunity to improve their skills and plug the skills gap within the industry can offer a wider pool of staff the opportunity to access greater training and upskilling, through means such as outsourcing or graduate programmes.”
