Are the UK's competitors in a better position
Are the UK's competitors in a better position to climb out of the credit crunch due to higher skills levels?
The only answer has to be a resounding "maybe!"
Jeremy Fern, Head of City Affairs, Economic Development Office, City of London Corporation
Investing in skills key to recovery
Suzana Lopes, Commercial Director, Pearson VUE
UK Actuaries at cutting edge
Paul Sweeting, Chairman of the UK Actuarial Profession's Global Financial Crisis Group
Impact of RDR
Mark Ehlinger, Divisional Director, The Coaching Platform Ltd - part of Focus Solutions Group plc
You bet they are!
Harry Katz, Norwest Consultants
Leadership and management skills in question
Neil Grimston, Business Development Director, Hanover Foundations
Time will tell
Dr Natalie Schoon, Head of Product Research, Bank of London and The Middle East plc
The only answer has to be a resounding "maybe!"
The wholesale financial services sector - "the City" as shorthand - still draws on a very broad spectrum of skills and talents, from the PhDs designing derivatives to the instincts of the trader, the diligence of the corporate lawyer to the eagle eyes of the forensic accountant. Diligence and eagle eyes are much needed as we recover from the banking crisis.
Much of the talent pool is international and will only be accessible if we follow sensible practice on visas and work permits - and if the UK remains a place where talented people want to live and work. But domestic sources need to be tapped as well. The picture isn't at all bad: people haven't given up on financial services careers but together we need to work on boosting basic skills as well as in-service training.
No need for panic- but no complacency either.
Jeremy Fern, Head of City Affairs, Economic Development Office, City of London Corporation.
Investing in skills key to recovery
Without a doubt, UK companies are wise to the fact that investing in skills is the key to recovery. That message is loud and clear in government-sponsored advertisements in national newspapers, and we are seeing signs that both companies and individuals are taking action.
A great example for the financial industry to follow is the IT sector. To retain a competitive edge in a truly globalised industry, UK IT professionals and their employers are in fact placing increasing emphasis on certification.
Recent research from the Institute of IT Training shows that despite the economy, IT certification is still growing as demand intensifies for credible, globally portable qualifications. Just because the economy has slowed down, this does not mean that technology has; and thankfully the UK's IT workforce has recognised this fact and ensured that its skills levels have kept the pace.
Suzana Lopes, Commercial Director, Pearson VUE
There are many organisations ensuring a high level of skills across the financial sector - but I am best placed to comment on the state of the UK Actuarial Profession.
The Profession regularly updates its exam syllabuses to reflect changes in the financial landscape. This helps to keep newly-qualified actuaries at the cutting edge of financial theory and practice. There is also a wide-ranging programme of continuing professional development available to actuaries, as well as a requirement to make use of it! This is underpinned by a wealth of original research, disseminated through journals and at conferences.
The UK Actuarial Profession also has a number of links with other professional bodies, actuarial and non-actuarial, in the UK and across the world, which expands its knowledge. So, as you can guess, I do not think that the UK is behind its competitors in terms of skill levels!
Paul Sweeting, Chairman of the UK Actuarial Profession's Global Financial Crisis Group
Potentially the Retail Distribution Implementation Plan (RDIP) may exert unprecedented pressure on training and development budgets. Whilst not yet finalised, indicators from the FSA that the proposed 2012 deadline for financial planners to attain a Level 4 NVQ professional qualification will be confirmed later this year, and this could be expected to lead to one or both of the following:
1. Large exodus from the IFA community, leaving Firms compelled to recruit and train replacements
2. Substantial investment in training and learning support by product providers and intermediaries to raise knowledge and application of knowledge levels, to prepare experienced financial planners to attain the Diploma Level qualifications.
Either of these could divert budgets and investments away from developing higher skills levels. Paradoxically therefore, the UK's competitors may steal a march, not necessarily because of the credit crunch, but due to potentially vast, one-off, investment in coaching new and experienced financial planners to gain their Diploma Level professional qualifications.
Mark Ehlinger, Divisional Director, The Coaching Platform Ltd - part of Focus Solutions Group plc
Our once pretty good educational system has been utterly trashed. Just look at these (Parliamentary) Statistics:
• About half the workforce - 16 million adults - have the reading and writing skills of 11 year olds. (MP Commons Public Accounts Jan-06)
• 12million with Literacy Skills of Level 1 and below / 16 million with numeracy skills of level 1 and below (Equivalent to 11 year olds)
The Accounts Committee reporting in 2006 said that Government schemes costing £billions had done little to improve the situation.
January 2009: UK workforce - approx 30.4 million (ONS Sept 07)
• 23 Million adults struggle with numeracy and literacy - that's 75%
• 17.8 million with poor literacy
• 23.8 million poor numeracy
• Britain ranks 14th in the Global Skills League Table.
All this in spite of £5billion being spent of training between 2001 and 2007 (Commons Public Accs Cttee)
So don't you think we have a problem? Don't you think the FSSC is rather wasting its time until the above has been substantially improved?
Harry Katz, Norwest Consultants
Leadership and management skills in question
Your question infers higher skills predominate elsewhere. Granted, the UK appears worse off than other competitor economies. But is this purely down to skill levels? Further when we talk skills, we must include both technical and non-technical skills in any analysis.
In terms of technical, there is no evidence that we hire less qualified individuals than in the US, Europe or Asia. Indeed, given the breadth and internationalism of UK capital and equity markets and their products, our technical skill levels are as high as anywhere. Otherwise, we would not have maintained our leading edge in world markets.
The big question is how will our leadership and management skills perform? If those skills can be properly harnessed together with our technical skills, the answer to your question is no!
Neil Grimston, Business Development Director, Hanover Foundations
According to the McKinsey report commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg of New York in 2007, the UK has a major advantage over New York when it comes to skills levels. This is due to the fact that the barriers to enter the UK for highly skilled staff are a lot lower than in the United States. Historically, the UK has always imported a lot of skills and knowledge and the current high levels of redundancy means there is a realistic risk that highly skilled people will leave the country and apply their knowledge in their home countries.
Does this mean the UK's competitors will be better off due to a higher skills level? Only time can tell, but it certainly also has to do with the extent to which individual countries have suffered from the credit crisis in the first place.
Dr Natalie Schoon, Head of Product Research, Bank of London and The Middle East plc
The views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect those of the FSSC. The FSSC does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information and will accept no liability for any loss or damage incurred through the use of, or reliance upon, information contained
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