I recently spent some time reviewing the Financial Services Skills Commission 2025 report into the skills the financial services industry will need to focus on to position itself for success. I was keenly interested in two areas specifically – training spend and internal mobility.
In a difficult environment organisations are increasingly leveraging internal talent pools to address hiring needs. To enable this strategy they are investing significantly in upskilling/reskilling where both business and employee benefit as a result of improved career development opportunities. Building a robust talent marketplace facilitates internal movement.
At 10Eighty we advocate creating a learning culture where there is a mindset of constant improvement. A smart employer makes a commitment to provide upskilling and career growth opportunities which significantly increase employee engagement and retention. This is about cultivating communities of talent within the organisation centred on workforce agility and building an engaged talent pool aligned with organisational objectives and vision for the future. Smart organisations work hard at selling the need for employees to invest in themselves.
Invest in training
The FSSC data shows that training spending is split relatively equally between technical skills and behavioural training with a shift towards encouraging ‘active learning’ and upskilling for internal mobility. They suggest that skills are “now the currency of choice when it comes to hiring, promoting or measuring learning outcomes” – putting skills at the heart of business strategy and success. That said demand for the skills we need in financial services continues to outstrip supply.
Alongside technical skills FS employers need candidates with robust creative thinking skills, coaching experience, relationship management skills, adaptability, empathy and teamwork. The FSSC found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that large firms spend less per person on learning platforms than smaller firms, possibly due to economies of scale.
Sadly, the financial services sector together with IT, are the only sectors where per capita training spend has risen in recent years. Uncertainty about the returns training can offer means organisations are often reluctant to invest in potentially useful training. In the UK, employers invested around £42.0bn in training each year, with an average spend of £1,530 per employee, according to 2020 Department for Education figures.
I continue to be amazed that employers see investment in training as a cost, and still feel they should only train people to do the job they are employed for. But, perhaps it is no surprise that The Institute of Fiscal Studies found that a significant proportion of employer-provided training is either health and safety or basic induction training, aimed at meeting legal requirements rather than enhancing workforce skills.
Create a learning culture
Training is now more bite-sized, specialised, and tailored with digital courses that are shorter and cheaper than traditional training. Self-directed learning on corporate platforms has become universally available, together with short-term project opportunities (gigs), removing the need for lengthy courses.
The FSSC report found that their members think in terms of encouraging ‘active learners’ rather than counting learning hours. Learning in the flow of work is important because ‘active learning’ is associated with a better command of skills. The FSSC point out though that highly-qualified adults are also most likely to enter jobs which offer the freedom for frequent learning so the correlation may run in both directions. Employees see development as key to their future employability.
It’s important to note that employees at all levels value a culture with learning and development opportunities that improve their career prospects and offers them meaningful work. This culture encourages and facilitates internal mobility, which is fuelled by reskilling and upskilling initiatives. Participating in workplace learning is not just about employees keeping pace with change but also about enabling internal mobility and redeployment within the business. Investment in skills has a real effect on labour productivity and retention.
In conclusion
Skills and capability matching are crucial in the current climate. Savvy employers build talent pools to exploit market opportunities, at the same time employees want to work with employers who develop their skills. The FSSC report emphasises the critical role that a skilled workforce plays in driving business success, something no enterprise, whatever their sector, can afford to ignore.
