First Minister welcomes Scottish financial and professional services sector’s vision as industry leaders set out plan for 50,000 opportunities
Plan for a new Financial Services Skills and Inclusion Hub was presented to Finance Secretary as Scottish Financial Enterprise launch new visual identity and website
An industry-led Financial Services Skills Action Plan was presented to Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Kate Forbes MSP, on Monday, after being formally endorsed by the First Minister, in a week where Scottish Financial Enterprise, the member body for finance in Scotland, has reinforced the sector’s vision for growth, investment and innovation.
The Skills Action Plan, which you can read in full here, includes proposals to create Scotland’s first Financial Services Skills and Inclusion Hub, a virtual environment created, developed, and delivered by the industry through key partnerships, supporting the aim of filling 50,000 roles in the next three years.
SFE led the production of the industry's plan, coordinating input and securing commitments from firms across the financial and related professional services industry, alongside Skills Development Scotland, educators, third sector organisations, and the Scottish Government. The plan has three core elements:
Skills: identifying and tracking key skills requirements, and enabling upskilling and reskilling throughout financial services careers
Pathways: simplifying and joining up the landscape to ensure pathways into our sector meet skills needs in an accessible and inclusive way
Promotion: challenging the industry to be a truly diverse and inclusive place to work and communicating the attractiveness of our industry to everyone who could thrive within it
The hub aligns with the Scottish Government’s recently launched National Strategy for Economic Transformation and will contribute significantly to accelerated economic recovery, the development of Scotland’s skilled workforce and promoting inclusive growth.
The plan received overwhelming endorsement by all attendees of the quarterly meeting of the Financial Services Growth and Development Board (FISGAD), the main forum for engagement between the financial and professional services industry and the Scottish Government. The meeting was held at Barclays new state-of-the-art Glasgow Campus. It embodies the industry’s strategic vision for the future - reflected in the new visual identity and website launched by Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) on the same day.
The new visual identity draws attention to Scotland’s status as a leading global financial centre, with a 350-year heritage and modern-day credentials across technology, innovation, net zero and skills, as well as its vital significance to Scotland’s economy.
The industry is the biggest sectoral contributor to Scotland’s GVA at around £13bn. It employs roughly 160,000 people, and continues to grow, creating many highly productive, well paid jobs across Scotland. In this year's internationally-recognised Global Financial Centres Index Edinburgh (up 1 to #21) and Glasgow (up 13 to #52) have improved their rankings.
The First Minister addresses industry leaders at a meeting of TheCityUK’s Leadership Council in London, discussing the huge contribution the industry makes to Scotland and the wider UK economy
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This is an important step forward in building Scotland’s status as a leading global financial centre in which people from all backgrounds want to work. We want to attract skilled people to come and work within our financial services industry as well as create a sustainable and accessible platform for them.
“We want people - whatever their age or circumstances - to see finance as an achievable industry to break into and not one that is only for a select few. That is why it is important we collaborate to ensure we’re doing everything we can to promote financial services across Scotland’s schools. By bringing together employers with educators we can identify talent as early as possible and open pathways which will benefit the sector and help us build a more inclusive labour market.
“This industry-led Skills Action Plan will support the development of Scotland’s skilled workforce, with the aim of filling 50,000 new roles in the next three years, and I welcome this alignment with the ambition we set out in our new National Strategy for Economic Transformation.”
SFE Chief Executive, Sandy Begbie CBE, said: “We were delighted that the First Minister welcomed our Skills Action Plan as we launch our new visual identity and website. Our message this week is that finance is one of Scotland’s biggest assets. We have a truly unique, globally recognised financial services ecosystem here that is at the cutting-edge in terms of technology and innovation and offers real value and expertise to international investors. Supporting and enabling new pipelines of diverse talent is essential as we seek to build on these strong foundations and create more well paid, highly productive jobs and investment to benefit the whole of Scotland.”
Caitlin Cooke, Seconded Head of Skills and Talent, SFE, and Senior Manager, EY, said: “This time last year we launched Scotland’s Financial Services Strategy which underlined our commitment to having a positive impact on society through leading the journey to net zero, supporting the economic recovery, responding to changing customer needs, and developing skills and inclusion. We are now putting concrete plans into place to make sure the aims of the strategy are delivered, working collaboratively with government, industry, educators and the third-sector to ensure the best possible outcomes for the sector while creating inclusive growth and fair, long-term prosperity for all.”
Colin Halpin, Head of Global Market Data Financial Management at Barclays Group, and SFE Board Sponsor for Skills and Inclusion, said: “A deep and broad pipeline of talent is critical to the ongoing success of the financial services industry and, moreover, the wider economy in Scotland. I’m delighted to see the Financial Services Skills Action Plan being endorsed by the Financial Services Growth and Development Board and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on society and our industry over the coming months and years.”