Succession planning in the financial advice sector is likely to remain a key issue in attracting and creating a healthy pipeline of new advisers and financial services professionals, as we see the population of financial advisers continue to reduce, and networks have a role to play here.
With a growing advice gap in Britain, there are huge opportunities for bright, talented new advisers to provide consumers with professional financial advice and to work in a host of roles and careers within financial services.
However, this is easier said than done. In financial services there is a definite need to see how we can better attract candidates into our industry.
One of the obstacles is that for potential candidates, it is very easy to read through the newspapers and get lost in the doom and gloom that the industry generates week after week.
So it is not surprising that job hunters gloss over the potential career opportunities our sector has to offer, as the benefits described are often too deeply buried under the controversy of what can be a complex and rapidly changing landscape.
This is coupled with the lack of clear entry routes to develop in roles, such as a financial adviser, along with a general lack of understanding of the sector and what it does. This is especially the case amongst younger people.
Much work has been done in the last five years to address the issue around financial planning education, as evidenced by the government’s decision to include financial education within the compulsory national curriculum for all maintained schools in England.
It will be part of citizenship lessons for 11 to 16-year-olds, together with stronger links in maths for all ages. This not only provides education for school children about managing their personal finances, but also opens up more awareness about jobs and careers in financial services, which has always been a challenge for our sector.
We know this will not solve the problem quickly, but we will hopefully see the benefits of this education in years to come when the younger generations join the working population.
However, our industry has a lot more work to do now in attracting new talent and skills, and one of the ways for businesses to do this is promoting more apprenticeships, building more schemes and ensuring job hunters know we are here waiting for them to join us.
The financial services sector has so much to offer in terms of career opportunities, in a variety of roles, and also in terms of creating more opportunities to attract more women into roles, particularly senior roles within businesses.
We should also not forget our new millennial workforce. Research among this age group has found that these workers of tomorrow are keen to own their own businesses, have flexibility in their working patterns and be at the forefront of our digital age.
They also want to be involved in worthwhile work that adds value to both their own work life and to that of their customers too. Financial advice roles would fit perfectly with the wants and needs of millennials.
