The banking sector has suffered too, with nine out of the 10 banks hiring fewer staff in 2023, compared to 2022. Only Lloyds Banking Group increased recruitment with a 5.5% rise in vacancies. Citi had a 75% fall in its job openings, Santander cut recruitment by 70%, and JPMorgan cut vacancies by 50%.

2024 brought mixed news. Fintech funding and deal volume dipped dramatically last year, with total funding down 54% to $7B across 323 deals. On a more positive note, average deal value increased to $21.8M, and money transfer fintech Zepz, secured one of the largest deals thanks to its $267M funding round.

5 jobs to discover this week

• Principal Software Engineer, Investa, London
• Head of Software Engineering (Start up), algo1, London
• Cloud Architect, Experis UK, England
• AWS Platform Engineer – DevOps, Docker, Kubernetes, Pioneer Search, London
• Data Scientist, NatWest, Edinburgh

A new report from Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft has found that the fintech sector experienced a 44% surge in job vacancies last year, driven by venture capital investment and AI.

“The combination of increased investment in AI, political shifts in the UK and falling interest rates has made 2024 a pivotal year for the finance sector,” the report says.

The outlook for 2025 looks set to build on this. “AI and machine learning continue to reshape the industry, with a 98% year-on-year increase in AI investments. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of financial institutions now invest in AI, a substantial rise from 32% in 2023”.

The report notes that the fintech industry in particular has become a “magnet for talent”, driven by that rise in venture capital funding, an increasingly widespread adoption of AI and automation. It also points to the sector’s ongoing fragmentation, which has fostered the emergence of new companies. 

Skills gaps

While it appears to be good news that fintech companies are posting more job vacancies, the downside is that the UK is in the grips of a tech and IT skills shortage.

An IT Skills Gap Report from Forbes surveyed 500 British businesses, to discover that 93% think there is an IT skills gap. The cause? It’s due to the rapid pace of technological development, according to 42%, and other factors include insufficient training opportunities, salary disparities, and low attraction to IT careers.

Fresh research from the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham has found that the UK could face economic losses of up to £27.6B by 2030 due to unaddressed digital skills shortages.

Dr Huanjia Ma of the University of Birmingham said that “We found that job postings requiring digital skills doubled from 2.4 million in 2012 to 4.9 million in 2022, with nearly 39% of all job postings highlighting the necessity for digital competencies”.

Some of those skills include AI and ML, cybersecurity, data analysis and data science, programming, cloud computing, mobile app development, project management, network admin, project management and DevOps. All of which, of course, are integral to the founding and functioning of a successful fintech.

In addition, the Birmingham research identifies that specific skills in high demand include Agile methodology, Python, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services.

The most recent Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) also says that it is tech skills that are projected to grow in importance more rapidly than any other skills in the next five years. The body places AI and big data at the top of the list, followed by networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy.

The answer to the skills gap isn’t a simple one, and will likely involve a mix of interconnecting factors which include encouraging adoption of STEM subjects at school and university. 

Businesses and organisations themselves need to invest in learning and development programmes, along with reskilling and upskilling programmes to ensure that employees have the right capabilities to do the job.

If you’re already there, then you’re in a great position to sector your next role. The Maddyness Job Board is a good place to start, showcasing fintech and finance roles all across the country.

Looking for your next opportunity? The Maddyness Job Board features thousands of roles in companies actively hiring