In October 2022 the Government under Minister of State for Financial Services (FS) Seán Fleming said the sector was “fast growing”, and that the Government was aiming to create 5,000 new jobs to boost the number of jobs in the sector to almost 58,000 by the end of 2026. That ambition might have cooled down slightly in the light of the big tech retrenchment in recent months but overall careers in financial services appear to be positive.
Paul Vance, head of recruitment at KPMG, agrees with the Government’s overall optimism. “There’s continued strong demand for our services across the board and our hiring plans reflect this. In addition to opportunities in audit and tax we particularly see openings in areas such as ESG and sustainability reflecting the business imperative that this has become. There are also lots of varied roles in areas ranging from corporate finance and financial services audit to data analytics, cybersecurity and technology consulting.”
Donal Lehane, partner, head of financial services at Deloitte, is also very bullish. In Deloitte Ireland the financial services team is the largest industry group with close to 1,000 practitioners working on the island of Ireland. The team has grown significantly over the last number of years across all parts of its business from consulting, audit & assurance, risk advisory, tax & legal, and financial advisory.
“Our team works in all key sectors from banking capital markets, insurance, investment management, real estate, aircraft finance and fintech, and works with all the leading domestic and global financial services companies. A key strength of our FS team is that we partner across all disciplines to support our clients on their strategic priorities. This provides colleagues with the opportunity to gain new experiences, develop new skills and work dynamically and collaboratively. As the leading global professional services company, it also allows our financial services team to work across our significant global network,” says Lehane.
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He views the challenges and opportunities as being linked to technology and flexible candidates are able to support finance through technology.
“Technological advancements and digital transformations are redefining every role in the FS sector. As a result FS organisations are becoming increasingly focused on artificial intelligence capabilities. Roles are becoming heavily automated, with manual tasks becoming leaner and faster for employees to complete. This includes automating compliance and reporting, improving efficiency and accuracy in pricing, automating the pre-trade analysis, due diligence, administration and many more.
“Due to the speed of this change financial institutions are looking for adaptable resilient employees who can learn new skills to support this technological shift. New opportunities are emerging within the FS sector with the need for more data scientists, technology consultants, innovation managers, and cybersecurity and risk roles to support and manage these new technology assets and tools as they continue to transform the FS sector,” he says.
Fleming agrees with Deloitte’s summation on sustainability and innovation. “The sustainable and digital transitions feature prominently as great opportunities for Ireland’s economy,” he says.