35 per cent of employees in financial institutions revealed that their organisation offers a limited graduate scheme, due to the time required to train new staff taking too long.
The findings were revealed by a poll of 250 decision makers at UK financial institutions and banks, via independent polling agency Censuswide, to measure the current state of digital skills and diversity levels in the banking and finance sectors.
It was also revealed that 74 per cent of workers believe that applicants for graduate schemes in the financial services industry are male dominated, and 70 per cent believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are an afterthought in the financial services industry.
Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer for FDM Group, commented: “If the UK wants to achieve its ambitions of becoming the next Silicon Valley, a range of work must be done to improve the mitigation of dropout rates early on in careers within the financial sector, and improve access. The financial services and technology sectors will only continue to grow once young people are presented with and made more aware of the opportunities available to them to develop a career in finance.
Grad schemes are a great way to pool knowledge, expertise and develop skills, in turn confronting the skills gap that pervades the UK. Improving access and career progression is thus crucial, and getting fresh faces into the financial sector is key to encouraging a more inclusive financial ecosystem.”
More positively, other findings revealed that 86 per cent of workers agreed that their organisation regularly promotes graduates from entry-level roles, and so such efforts invested in improving access will continue to see this number, as well as job satisfaction and employee experience, rise.
Grad schemes in financial services typically last two to three years, set to provide graduates with an in-depth understanding of the industry, develop a wide-ranging expertise, and identify and nurture their interests.
However, they have not always been received positively, with high drop-out rates and a lack of opportunity to enter or progress in the financial sector.