Technological change is placing increasing pressure on financial services firms to continually adjust their skills strategies, according to a new report.
The report, published by the Financial Services Skills Commission, suggests that the rapid changes in artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies, as well as a challenging business environment, are making longer-term reskilling activities less attractive. This is creating a shift towards more rapid, and agile, upskilling interventions.
This, the report finds, is evidence that skills gaps can no longer be considered a static metric. Instead, they should be viewed as an ‘ever-moving target.’
The publication is the latest Annual Skills Report, published yearly by the Financial Services Skills Commission. It is based on data collected from the Commission’s members, and insights from the wider industry, providing the most reliable, data-led assessment on the state of skills in the sector.
Data in the report shows that headcount in financial services decreased by 5% in 2025. While the data does not indicate an explicit reason for this change, it could reflect sluggish growth or natural fluctuations in sector headcount. Encouragingly, there was a 2.5% increase in early careers employment, largely driven by an increase in apprenticeship starts.
Investment in employee learning has remained steady and the number of people actively learning has also remained consistent. However, 30% of employees are not proactively engaging in learning beyond what is mandated by their organisations.
Efforts by firms to invest in their employees have seen internal mobility rates remain steady. This is evidenced by just over half of roles in the sector now being filled internally.
Skills gaps for technical skills and behaviours have widened as firms prepare for further technological advancements. This means that machine learning and artificial intelligence skills have, unsurprisingly, become the most in-demand capabilities. In response to the pace of change, adaptability is now the most in-demand behaviour.
Claire Tunley, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Skills Commission, said:
“The sector has long recognised the skills challenge and is taking concerted action to close gaps. But what this report shows is that we’ve moved into a new era, when skills must be considered an ever-moving target.
“The years ahead will be characterised by unpredictability and a sense of the unknown, but this is not an excuse to simply do nothing. Rather, the sector must work harder than ever and increase momentum; this means firms adapting their strategies by embedding skills across the organisation, making space for employees to learn, and investing in early careers.”
