Fintechs blame Brexit for struggle to recruit
THE UK’s fintech firms are struggling to recruit the best talent in the face of Brexit, a new report claims.
The ‘Fuelling Fintech’ report from TheCityUK, which promotes Britain as a financial centre, and recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson, said Brexit has created concern about the availability of future tech talent.
It noted that financial services firms are worried that Brexit will shrink the pool of suitable graduates.
It pointed to a survey of 600 hiring managers in the UK which showed 20 per cent of graduates with the right tech skills are from the European Union.
The report also said that, since the Brexit vote in June 2016, there has been a significant decrease of graduates coming to the UK from France and Germany in particular, and recruiters have seen a net migration of tech graduates back to the EU.
Contributing £7bn to the UK economy and employing 60,000 people, the fintech sector is a vital engine of growth, TheCityUK said.
Read more: Scale and pace of fintech growth could put financial system at risk
But companies are finding it tough to fill roles in coding, cloud computing, machine learning, software development, cyber, artificial intelligence and blockchain, the report said.
“There is a risk that those talented migrants with the skills needed by the UK will leave before these skills can be replaced by home-grown talent,” it added.
Among its recommendations are better retraining of existing staff, setting up placement schemes similar to those seen in the pharma and engineering sector, and establishing partnerships with universities to tap into a pipeline of skilled workers.
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