FIs Seek to Improve In-House Tech Skills Through Training & Recruitment

Half of U.S. financial institutions seek better in-house tech capabilities, with 70% focused on in-house training and 40% investing more in recruitment, according to research commissioned by fintech provider Fraedom.

Jonny Davis, head of regions – Americas at Fraedom, said: “We can see that there is a great opportunity for banks to partner with fintechs to address and futureproof their financial ecosystems and how they can best use the skills they have in-house. Fintechs can also help banks uncover the skills they need and how best to attract them, whether that be by recruiting or upskilling existing employees.”

Davis suggested these partnerships would be particularly beneficial because, 22% of financial institutions feel they do not currently have the expertise in-house to implement new technology. “Fintechs can provide banks with the technical know-how to help them gain a greater understanding of what technology they need which will be instrumental in attracting new talent, especially as the younger generations progress in their careers and expect to have access to the latest technology. This will also arm them with the tools and expertise they need as they undergo digital transformation.”

The results also found that:

• Twenty-six percent of financial institutions recruit for new talent, while 24% use fintech partners to gain the necessary skills.
• The roles financial institutions most want to attract are technology risk analysts (36%), data scientists (34%) and security specialists (24%).
• Almost a quarter (22%) of financial institutions feel they do not currently have the expertise in-house to implement new technology.

To further develop skills in-house, nearly a third (32%) of financial institutions will be prioritizing expanding or modifying existing internal training schemes, while18% will put new internal training schemes in place and 26% will be looking externally and investing more in technology skills recruitment.

Davis added. financial institutions are not just focusing on recruiting new talent to gain a broader range of skills but are also looking to retain their existing talent and provide the tools they need to grow with the pace of the technology.  He emphasized they must also place greater emphasis on creating the right culture which gives the freedom and flexibility that most employees in technical and development roles desire,” “Financial organizations across the sector are all competing to attract the best talent, so it’s vital they create points of differentiation within their culture so as to be the most attractive.”

UK-based Fraedom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Visa, noted over the past 20 years, it has managed over 1.5 billion transactions through its web-based platform. Supporting more than 100 commercial issuing banks, over 600,000 organizations benefit from Fraedom’s technology, managing transactions for over 7 million employees worldwide. The company has offices in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.