7th November 2024

Why FinTech companies should hire graduates

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FinTech sector overview

The FinTech sector has witnessed unprecedented growth over the course of the last few years.

In Britain, financial technology is a £20 billion industry, which currently employs more than 135,000 people.

And with the UK standing at the forefront of the global FinTech scene, this is a number that is only set to increase.

The growth of the FinTech industry is showing no signs of slowing – which is why we encourage students in our network to learn more about the industry in preparation for their job search, and graduates in our database to apply for jobs at exciting and innovative FinTech companies.

Likewise, in terms of FinTech recruitment, hiring junior talent really is the perfect choice.

Find out why your FinTech company should focus on graduate hiring strategies.

Key reasons why FinTech companies should hire graduates

Graduates have grown up with technology

Today’s graduates represent a generation of ‘digital natives’ – those who have been brought up during the age of digital technology.

Naturally, this means they are more in tune with digital products.

Regardless of their role (whether it’s in IT, marketing, or a client-facing position) they are more likely to be the right hire.

Graduates will be better placed to understand technical problems, terminology, and trends.

Given that 58% of employers think that computer skills are essential to their business, there’s no overlooking the fact that today’s graduates can add real value to companies – especially those as forward-thinking and disruptive as FinTech firms.

Graduates are suited to the fast-paced FinTech sector

Equally, graduates are readily able to adapt to the fast-paced and quickly evolving world of FinTech.

Fresh out of university, often new to the city, and with relatively flexible schedules, graduates will be open to new opportunities, variety, and innovation – providing the flexibility and adaptability that fast-growing FinTech companies require in order to succeed.

Graduates are affordable – and have a proven ROI

One of the main advantages of recruiting fresh graduates is that hiring them costs far less than more experienced candidates.

The average starting graduate salary in 2018 was £24,158, with the salary bracket for IT & Tech roles anywhere between £20,000 – £50,000.

But what’s even better, is that graduates can offer a proven return on investment.

By hiring a talented candidate on an entry-level salary, and investing in their professional development, you can mould your graduate hire into what you want them to be, set them to work across several areas of your business, and enable them to learn a number of new skills, both technical and non-technical.

Graduates can bridge the digital skills gap

There is an unmistakable, and ever-growing, digital skills gap in the UK.

It’s thought that there could be as many as 756,000 unfilled jobs in the European ICT sector by 2020, reflected across all industries.

There has been much debate about how the digital skills gap is preventing companies from innovating and growing.

Digital skills that are most in-demand include:

App Development
Software Development
Front-end Web Development
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
IT Analyst
Machine Learning
Cyber Security
Data Engineering
Data Visualisation
Cloud Computing
UI/UX Design
Blockchain

Accordingly, there has long been talk of a FinTech talent shortage, with 75% of FinTech firms fearing a technical skills crisis over the next few years.

In order to bridge an ever-growing digital skills gap, high-growth FinTech companies have increasingly focused their attention on graduate hiring.

There are currently more than 100,000 people studying Computer Science degrees, and that’s not taking into account other STEM degrees like Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics.

This means that there is a wealth of students with in-demand IT skills, either graduating this year or have already graduated and are looking for their first opportunity.

Likewise, through our discussions with current university students, it has become clear that more and more young people are upskilling – developing IT skills off their own backs through coding programmes, AI, machine learning, blockchain university societies, and hackathons.

Not only do today’s students and graduates possess an interest in digital products and innovations, but are building up their skill sets to meet an increasing demand.

Graduates can move into a range of other roles

In FinTech recruitment, we find that the companies we work with are not just in need of technical talent – because with rapid growth comes the need to build up other areas of the business, too.

Payments is one of the most transformed services in FinTech – representing half of FinTech revenue in the UK.

Subsequently, FinTech companies require a range of junior candidates, including those with first-class numerical and analytical skills.

With finance roles amongst the most sought-after opportunities in the graduate pool, FinTech firms are never short of early-career talent to add to their team.

As FinTech continues to grow and challenge traditional finance processes, there will be further opportunities for account managers, client services, customer support, marketing and analysts to make their mark.

94% of SMEs are struggling to find workers with the right skills – and with an estimated 100,000 + FinTech jobs by the year 2030, it’s time for fast-growing FinTechs to consider – or re-consider – their hiring strategy.

For more information about the FinTech sector, check out this FinTech success story written by TopLineComms.

We have thousands of candidates in our database keen to kick-start their career in FinTech.

Looking to hire graduates for your business? Find out why we are the best recruitment agency in London – reach out today to find out more about our recruitment and job posting services.