The data revealed that more than a third of workers (35 per cent) from across the economy will start looking for a new career in the next year due to the rising cost of living and 24 per cent want more flexibility regarding working-from-home arrangements.
The three most popular reasons why individuals would consider a career in financial services include high salary and bonus expectations (58 per cent), a good work/life balance (43 per cent) and that the topic sounds interesting (36 per cent).
However, despite being an aspirational sector to work in, a significant proportion (42 per cent) of financial services workers will be looking to change career themselves within a year, down slightly from 44 per cent in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among financial services workers looking for a new career, 30 per cent want improved salary and benefits, 23 per cent want more job security and 20 per cent want more flexibility regarding working-from-home arrangements.
Karim Haji, head of financial services at KPMG UK, said given the rising cost of living and the broader economic uncertainty, it makes sense that many individuals will be considering their current roles, career choices and where they live and work.
“This will provide a great opportunity for Financial Services firms to target talent, but also make sure that they are better demonstrating the benefits of working in the sector and their improved proposition for employees. Doing so will help firms attract and retain the best talent,” he said.
“Encouragingly, the number of financial services workers looking to change career has dropped slightly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Many financial services firms have already offered pay rises to their employees, but as important to many are the other benefits which firms have invested in to boost personal fulfilment, such as more training, mobility and development opportunities.
“In the competition for talent, Financial Services firms should consider extending the scope of their search to include non-traditional pools of talent which can help boost diversity and inclusion. This could mean investing more in return-to-work, military transition, apprenticeships or school leaver programmes.
“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many Financial Services firms have also made positive changes to their working practices, including dropping some of their more conservative employee policies in line with other sectors. This will go some way in tackling outdated perceptions of the industry and help to attract a more diverse workforce.”
The main reason why individuals wouldn’t want to work in financial services is because they don’t know enough about the sector or what job opportunities there are (32 per cent). Long hours (23 per cent) and the belief that the topic sounds boring (29 per cent) were other prominent reasons why individuals would not want to work in financial services.
