What’s happening in the industry?
Although this sector had been growing slowly, an economic downturn can affect jobs and salaries in financial services badly. Companies change, develop and expand all the time because of competition and this includes what is happening in the rest of the world
As with many sectors, some employers in financial services, accountancy and finance have been affected by the current economic climate. While there are problems at the moment, these industries are and will continue to be important to the UK economy. There will still be a range of opportunities at various levels for skilled people.
A university degree is becoming more popular for entry level jobs to much of the sector and graduate schemes are very competitive. More people are qualified to level 3 than in other industries.*
Many companies are updating their technology and systems and advances in technology mean that some jobs that were done by people are now being done by machines. This also means that people with specialist IT skills are in greater demand.
There is a shortage of people with communication skills, project management skills, leadership skills and knowledge of IT systems. More people with language skills may be needed too as companies develop relationships with other countries.
Because people are living longer and need to make sure they are comfortable in later life, there will be more demand for pensions, retirement planning and healthcare insurance and this means more jobs for people selling them. Some of these jobs will be adviser positions and some will be jobs in call centres.
See the 'Notts Info' section for what's happening locally.
*ONS Labour Force Survey 2007
