"The pace of technological change is accelerating, and it’s leading to increasing skills gaps in the sector."
Apprenticeships are becoming the better route for young professionals in financial services, according to a survey of employees in the sector conducted by tech startup Multiverse.
About half of financial services employees (47%) think apprentices in the industry have better long-term career prospects than graduates. A similar amount (49%) say apprentices are better than their university-educated counterparts at learning on the job, absorbing and applying new information.
The analysis also found that nearly nine in ten (88%) employees across the financial services sector back apprenticeships as a way of filling graduate recruitment gaps at their company.
Apprentices are also helping to boost diversity. 44% of employees think recruiting candidates from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds is a challenge. Yet almost three-quarters of financial services employees (71%) and over half of senior managers (59%) say hiring apprentices could help make firms more representative of wider society.
The poll of 1,000 employees across financial services firms also identified a skills gap in the sector. 45% of owners and partners at financial services firms are particularly concerned about candidates leaving university without the right skills or right degrees. That comes as unfilled vacancies increase. The figure hit 55,000 in the second quarter of 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 32,000 in the same period the previous year.
Euan Blair, founder and CEO of Multiverse, said: “From private equity and pension funds to banking and venture capital, the financial services sector is a cornerstone of the UK economy - but the industry is going through profound changes.
“As this report shows, the pace of technological change is accelerating, and it’s leading to increasing skills gaps in the sector. Apprenticeships are at the heart of the solution, helping to build financial services firms that are fit for the future.
“As professionals across the accountancy industry argue, apprenticeship schemes provide high-quality reskilling opportunities for existing employees, and an increasingly prestigious, credible alternative to university for those looking to start their careers. The world of work is being transformed, and our report published today makes a strong case for how the financial services sector can keep up.”
