In a digitally advancing world, many business leaders believe that improved digital skills would support the implementation of technology at their organisation. Yet the acquisition of these skills varies across industrial sectors. Taking one important example – financial services – too many companies are still struggling to bridge the digital skills gap. This is according to a review conducted by Consulting at Davies.
The consulting firm ran a survey of over 500 senior decision-makers within UK-based financial services companies. This revealed that over a third (38 percent) of respondents admitted that there is a lack of digital skills in their business.
The research was carried out by Censuswide between 13-21 May 2024. All respondents are in senior management positions in their respective companies.
In response to such trends, 62 percent of firms are prioritising training and upskilling their current work force over recruitment, while 55% now have apprenticeship schemes in place to support the development of their workforce.
Financial Services firms look to retraining and retention to address the digital skills gap
Despite such measures there is still work to be done in making the most of existing talent as more than two fifths (41 percent) say they are failing to get the best from their staff.
Broadly speaking, talent acquisition and retention was identified as a major challenge for a quarter (24 percent) of the firms surveyed, while nearly half (47%) are struggling to keep up with rising salary expectations.
Commenting on the findings, Paul Johnson, Managing Partner Consulting, explains in a statement sent to Digital Journal: “Hiring and retaining talent has always been crucial for success in the financial services sector. However, in today’s business landscape, a shortage of digital skills has become a particularly acute challenge. Despite the long-standing awareness of this skills gap, firms are still struggling to find effective solutions.”
Johnson adds: “Given this context, it’s no surprise that businesses are increasingly turning to retraining their current employees. Nonetheless, more work needs to be done to ensure that employees’ potential and talents are utilised as effectively as possible.”
In terms of suitable strategies to adopt, Johnson’s view is: “Whilst upskilling is clearly part of the solution, with more than a third of the sector’s workforce due to retire over the next decade we have to attract fresh talent too, the question is how?”
Johnson further explains: “In my view, it requires a major re-think across the financial services industry. Attracting and retaining top talent is not a task that any single organisation can tackle alone, the entire sector needs to collaborate to promote the industry and create clear pathways into long-term roles. Only then can we address the digital skills gap effectively while making the most of the talent that we already have.”
