It is an exciting time to join the financial services sector, particularly as options for graduates are significantly broader than they were three to five years ago, the independent Financial Technology and Executive Salary Survey 2011 has found.
English language skills and the work ethic have slipped in recent years
Compiled by recruiter Castille Resources of Valletta, and launched jointly a few days ago with Finance Malta, the agency tasked with marketing the Malta jurisdiction, the survey examined 1,745 posts. The findings seek to offer a benchmark for local technology and finance salaries across several sectors.
Just under half the candidates profiled were aged between 25 and 35. Around 20 per cent were under 25 and a further 20 per cent aged 35 to 45. The rest were aged over 45.
Just under 90 per cent of respondents were Maltese, 81 per cent were men, and 35 per cent had children.
The report reveals there are significant opportunities at entry level within financial services – unlike most other sectors – ranging from audit and assurance practice traineeships and fund administration, to research and analysis within the investment management sectors.
Castille Resources managing director Matthew Camilleri pointed out that all the entry level positions involved intensive on-the-job training and all increasingly required specialisation in fields like fund valuation or equity research.
Very interesting opportunities were being created in more senior ranks, but candidates need specific qualifications and experience.
Finance Malta chairman Kenneth Farrugia stressed that the availability of the right skills was crucial if Malta was to be positioned as an internationally renowned financial centre capable of accommodating the clusters it was seeking to attract.
Measures were actively being taken to plug the holes in the job market as efficiently as possible.
Following an agreement with the Malta Funds Industry Association, the University will next year launch electives related to funds. Insurance associations have also reached similar agreements with the University.
Meanwhile, a three-month fund administration programme, originally launched by the Institute of Financial Services, has evolved into a two-year diploma offered by Manchester University.
Finance Malta is actively encouraging financial services associations to discuss programme design with the University and Mcast to address skill gaps, Mr Farrugia added. He warned that skill shortages threatened the industry’s growth as it took some of the shine off Malta’s attractiveness and fuelled wage inflation.
Firms already established on the island were continuously assessing opportunities to bring in talent from other jurisdictions.
The financial services sector was among the highest employer of expatriates; 55.6 per cent of companies surveyed were recruiting outside Malta to some extent.
The survey found the pressure on the accountancy skills sector – already problematic for some time – has mounted, as skills are snapped up by increasingly complex financial services organisations.
There is limited supply of newly qualified accountants, partly qualified accountants following the ACCA programme (recruited as alternatives to fully qualified accountants), and accounting technicians who were fulfilling core accountancy functions in financial services sub-sectors. At more senior levels, the sector is facing a shortage of professionals with extensive experience in treasury, market risk, compliance and regulatory, senior fund accountants, and lawyers with significant financial services exposure.
Fewer candidates were employed at these levels, but salaries were gaining momentum because of the lead time required to nurture the specialist experience.
Many financial services areas experiencing shortages were seeing wage inflation ranging from 14 per cent for entry level to intermediate positions, and up to nearly 20 per cent for some specialist senior posts.
The research concluded that confidence in the local job market, particularly in technology and finance, was seeing a recovery. The jurisdiction’s rapid growth in banking, funds and insurance was driving increases in salaries across the board.
Increases in remuneration for technology posts have witnessed a slower momentum, although very specific technology skills sets like project management, business intelligence and software developers were proving to be more ‘valuable’.
Castille Resources said 75 per cent of companies had difficulty recruiting software developers, similarly to the previous year.
There were improvements in success rates for the recruitment of lower level roles, an indication that more graduates were streaming into the talent pool.
The survey found that the job market was “buoyant” overall and international clients were particularly satisfied with skill quality.
Respondents who employed these skills all rated technology skills as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. A further 80 per cent highly rated graduates’ financial skills.
Mr Camilleri said that while most employers rated local talent favourably, it was important that the talent pool fostered its English language skills and its work ethic as both characteristics had slipped in recent years.
A marked increase of seven per cent was noted in staff turnover, which Castille Resources found to be reflective of more confidence in the local job market for certain skills sets, and an indication that career mobility in Malta was increasing.
Mr Farrugia emphasised that human resources were one of Malta’s key success factors which, however, required management.
The island’s financial centre had gained momentum, and there was significant potential ahead.
“We therefore have two main challenges,” Mr Farrugia pointed out. “Maintaining the high skills and ethical standards, and ensuring there were adequate numbers to service the growth and keep salary expectations grounded. We must make sure that the quality of our skills and the work we deliver outshines that of other jurisdictions.”
Finance Malta, he added, welcomed any incentives the authorities introduced to encourage increased female participation in the financial services labour market.