It is no secret that financial services pays more than
any other IT employment sector. Ask any recruitment agency about
wages in one of the other sectors and they will often respond:
"It's good, but it doesn't match up to financial
services".
Financial services is one of the largest sectors for IT staff in
the UK, accounting for more than a quarter of vacancies advertised,
according to research firm
Salary Services.
So just how rich are the pickings? Adam Stokes, operations
director at the IT Job Board, explained, "The more specialised the
skill, the higher the salary. But, for more generic roles, the City
still pays more. An average IT manager's salary across the country
would be £50k, but an IT manager working in finance could easily
earn £75k."
Despite being a high paying sector, many positions remain
unfilled. Corinne Dauncey, marketing manager at TipTopJob.com, said
not only is there a shortage of project and programme managers, but
"there is a severe lack of development and programming staff across
all computer languages who have knowledge of the financial services
sector."
According to Michael Arben, financial services strategy director
at LogicaCMG, an additional factor is the reliance of financial
services on IT. "Financial services firms have done well from IT,"
he said. "They have used it to displace a lot of cost from their
operations. Those organisations are now being tasked to create much
more value: 'how do I use this stuff for growth?'
"To do that, you really have to understand the workings of
financial services, the principle of creating value, and its
assets. Financial services companies are making much higher demands
on IT. And I don't think there is a lot of skill to go round."
The shortage of IT people who can work in financial services in
the UK is not helped by the efforts of companies in mainland Europe
who are trying to staff up.
Mark Verghese, who runs a dedicated capital markets IT team for
recruitment firm Greythorn, said, "There are massive skill
shortages for niche applications within the investment banking
sector across Europe, and the law of supply and demand is putting
upward pressure on contracting rates.
Some of the biggest changes in financial services revolve around
compliance, which is leading to further shortages. As well as the
Sarbanes-Oxley act, which affects US companies and British
companies that have their shares traded across the Atlantic, there
are EU regulations focused on the financial services sector
alone.
However, experience with compliance does not mean developers
have to be fully conversant in the details of the law. Jeroen
Gruijters, vice-president of professional services at compliance
software specialist FRS Global, said the company looks for
accountancy and economics people who can understand the compliance
legislation. And those people are extremely thin on the ground.
But for IT staff, their software skills are more important than
compliance rules. Just because there are shortages in a number of
areas, it does not mean financial services IT is easy to break
into.
Paul Gillott, MD of Oracle HR system implementation specialist
Symatrix, said, "For us, the challenge is finding people who
understand both the technology and the business processes it
underpins.
"One of the main problems is that there are a lot of people out
there who have limited hands-on experience. It means that we
immediately reject more than 40% of the CVs we receive."
Stokes added, "The City is notoriously difficult to cross-train
into. Industry knowledge and experience count for a lot,
particularly as many technologies are so specific to individual
banks and processes."
However, it is possible to move into the City if people can
combine business acumen with technological skills. Norman Burden,
MD of recruitment consultancy Imprint Search and Selection, said,
"Employers are looking for individuals who can communicate
effectively between the business and technical functions. They must
be able to communicate complex ideas to the business."
According to Robin Unsworth, consultant at Qedis, the work is
not for everybody. "IT professionals work under high pressure and
are continuously up against tight deadlines," he said.
"Due to the nature of the work, and the global reach of the
sector, they are also expected to work out of traditional office
hours, across multiple time zones.
"However, the work is often more interesting than other sectors
and, because the value of IT is very much appreciated, this can
provide a more rewarding experience than other industries."
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