2026年技能报告：技能缺口一个不断移动的目标

AnnualSkillsReport

Skillsgaps:amovingtarget

March2026

Financialservices

skillscommissi◎n

AnnualSkillsReport2026

2

Tableofcontents

Foreword3

Keyfindings4

Introductionandmethodology5

Workforcedisruption:Hiring,specialisationandtheearlycareerspipeline6

Hiringgrowsalongsideworkforcecontraction 6

Newchallengeslinkedtohighapplicationvolumes 7

Hard-to-fillrolesreflectrapidtechnologicalchangeandindustryexpertise 8

Earlycareersintakeincreasesmodestly 9

Strategyandskillsclarityarereshapingearlycareers 9

Debatecontinuesoverfutureworkforceshapeandsize 10

Amovingtarget:Skillsdemandoutpacessupply11

Skills–amovingtarget 11

AIadoptionisreshapingskillsdemandsacrossallroles 11

Technicalskillsandbehavioursareevolvingtogether 13

Supplyisnotkeepingpacewithacceleratingdemand 14

Skills-basedorganisationsarebecomingthestrategicnorm 14

Skillsassessmentcapabilityvariesbyfirmsize 15

Anewskillsclassificationenablesconsistencyacrossfirmsandsectors 16

Learningandinternalmobilityholdsteady,highlightinguntappedpotential17

Learningtimeisstabledespitedisruption 17

Visibilityoflearningengagementisimproving 18

AIcapabilityisbeingbuiltthroughlayeredinterventions 20

Upskillingprogrammesaremorescalablethanformalreskilling 20

Moreopportunitiesforbusinessandcolleaguesthroughinternalmobility 21

Strengthenedskillsfoundationsarerequiredtonavigateongoingdisruption 22

Aboutthisreport

TheAnnualSkillsReportistheyearlypublicationonthestateofskillsinthefinancialservicessector.

PublishedbytheFinancialServicesSkillsCommissionsince2022,thereportisbasedondatacollectedfromourmemberfirmsandinsightsfromthewiderindustry.

Ithighlightsthelatesttrendsandskillstheindustryneedstopositionitselfforfuturesuccess,whilefuellingsustainablegrowth.

Jumptocontents3

Foreword

ItseemsthatalmosteveryconversationIhaveischaracterisedbytalkoftechnology,disruption,andthesector’spreparednessfortheinevitablechangesthatliejustaroundthecorner.

Increasingly,businessleaderstellmetheyarehavingtorespondtotechnologicalchangeat

ever-increasingspeed.Buttodothateffectively,theyrequiredata-ledinsightstheycanacton,includingthelatesttrends,emergingissuesandwhatbestpracticelookslikeacrossthesector.That’swhyour‘AnnualSkillsReport’hasbecomeaninvaluablesourceforfirmsandatimely

assessmentofthesector’sskillschallenges.Thisyear’spublicationisnodifferent.Itisourfifthreportonthestateofskillsinthesectorandourmostcomprehensiveto-date,witha33%

largersamplesize,largelydrivenbyourgrowingmembership.

Aclearandconsistentthemethroughoutthereportisthatskillsgapsarenotastaticmetric.

Theyareanever-movingtargetthatfirmsmustrespondto,inrealtime.Ourfindingsshowthatasfirmsgrapplewiththedisruptionandopportunitiesbroughtaboutbyartificialintelligence

andothertechnologies,skillsneedsarechangingfasterthanever.Thepaceofchangeis

placingincreasedpressureonfirmsto‘keepup’andadapttheirskillsstrategiesaccordingly.

Thisisanissueweareexploringinmoredetailaspartofourresearchintoartificialintelligenceanddisruptivetechnologies,andtheirimpactonworkforceskills.WeareleadingtheprojectonbehalfofHMTreasuryandwillpublishourfirstreportinMay2026.

Thelatestdatapointstomodestgrowthinearly-careeremployment,whichcontrastswiththeoften-citednarrativeofdecline.Thisshowsthatfirmsareworkinghardtodeveloptalentby

focusingonapprenticeshipswhilealsobuildingpipelinesthatcaterformediumandlong-termneeds.

Furthermore,suggestionsthatfirmsarepullingbackfrominvestingintheirstaffarenotbackedupbythedata.Rather,theevidenceisthatinvestmentinlearning,andlevelsofinternal

mobility,remainsteady.However,italsoshowsthattheneedtoadaptatpacehasmade

longer-termreskillingactivitieslessattractive,creatingashifttowardsmorerapid,andagile,upskillinginterventions.

Whatwecantakefromthisisthattheunpredictabilityofchange,andanunknownfuture,arenotexcusestosimplydonothing.Wemustworkharderthanever,tonotjustkeepupbutalsoincreasemomentum.Thismeansfirmsadaptingtheirstrategiesbyembeddingskillsacrosstheorganisation,makingspaceforemployeestolearn,andinvestinginearlycareers.

ClaireTunley

ChiefExecutiveoftheFinancialServicesSkillsCommission

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents4

Keyfindings

1.Fewerjobsoverall,butcontinueddemandforspecialisttalentamidstacceleratingartificialintelligenceadoption

Historically,financialservicesjobnumbershaveremainedremarkablysteady,withsmallfluctuations.In2025,headcountinfinancialservicesdecreasedby5%,whilevacancy

postingsincreasedslightly.Firmswerecontinuingtohireintotechnology,softwareandindustryspecialistrolesbutlesslikelytobackfillleavers.GenerativeAItoolsgathered

momentumandautomationmadeoperationalprocessesmoreefficient,whileimprovingservicesforcustomers.

2.Earlycareersintakehasgrownin2025,drivenbyapprenticeshipsratherthangraduatenumbers

Earlycareersintakes(apprenticeandgraduateentriescombined)haveseena2.5%overallincreasein2025,drivenbyapprenticeshipstarts.Comparedto2024,firmshiredmore

apprenticesandfewergraduates.Firmsrecognisetheimportanceofmaintainingastrongtalentpipelineforfutureseniorroles,andmanyarereviewingtheirprogrammestoattractyoungtalent,lookingbeyondformalqualifications.

3.Skillsneedskeepshifting,withgapsmovingnotclosing

Whileourpreviousreportshowedpositiveprogresswithnarrowingskillsgapsintechnicalskills,our2025datashowsachangeinthedirectionofskillsneeds–notforthefirsttime.

Shiftingskillsgapsareaconstantchallengeforfirmstomanage.

Skillsgapsfortechnicalskillsandbehaviourshavewidened,onaverage,asfirmsare

settingfoundationstorealisethefullbenefitsofAI.Unsurprisingly,machinelearning/AI

demandtrumpsthoseofallotherskills.Aspeopleexpectthepaceofchangetocontinue,adaptabilityhasdisplacedcoachingasthemostin-demandbehaviour.

4.Skills‑basedfoundationsarebecominganecessity

Ourmembershavedemonstratedtheircommitmentinmovingtowardsskills-basedmodels,andthisisillustratedbytheirabilitytoidentifytheirpositiononourmaturityframework.

Mostfirmsfeeltheyneedtodeepentheirskills-basedfoundationstobetterpreparetalentandskillsforthefuture.Smallerfirmshavefewerresourcestodeployskillsassessment

technology,whencomparedtolargerfirms.

5.Learningandupskillingactivityarestablebutnotkeepingpacewithacceleratingchange

Inthelastyear,non-mandatorylearninghasstayedstable,whilefirmsintroducedAItraining,andtheirmeasurementofactivelearnersimproved.However,while70%oftheworkforce

areactivelearners,30%donotproactivelyengagewithlearningbeyondwhatismandated–atleastnotinwaysthatfirmsareabletotrack.

Reskillingactivityhasprovendifficulttoscalefrompilotcohorts,andtherateofinternal

mobilitywasthesameasin2024-althoughmorepeoplewereabletomoveintonewrolesinternally,givenincreasingvacancies.

6.Itisunclearifthesector’scurrentresponsematchesthescaleofdisruption

Whilefirmsareonthejourneyofembeddingskills-basedprinciplesandworkingtoincreaseinternalmobility,thequestionremainswhetherthecorporateresponseissufficientto

addressthescaleofthechallenge.

Increasingengagementwithlearningmattersamidstdisruption,asaheavyrelianceoninformallearningisunlikelytoclosethegapbetweendemandandsupply.Continued

strategicworkforceplanningisasimportanttodrivereskillingasitistomaintainanearlycareerspipeline.

AnnualSkillsReport2026

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Introductionandmethodology

Theanalysisinthisreportisbasedondataprovidedbyourmemberfirms.Thenumberof

responsesinthisyear’sreporthasincreasedfrom24to32,partlydrivenbya10%growthin

Commissionmembershipsincethe2025report.Thishasenabledourmostcomprehensiveandbalancedpictureoftheindustryto-date.Whilethismakesourdatamorerepresentativethan

ever,italsoposeschallengesforcomparabilityyearonyear.

Thedatacollectionwaslivefrom3Novemberandclosedon28November2025.Ourmembersvaryinsizefrom300to60,000employees,withjustoverhalfabovethe2,000-employeemarkand22%abovethe10,000-employeemark.

2025samplebreakdownbysector

Investmentmanagement

38%Banking

Buildingsociety13%

ensions

13%

31%Insuranceandp

Other6%

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents6

Workforcedisruption:Hiring,specialisationandtheearlycareerspipeline

•Financialservicesfirmsadvertisedslightlymorevacanciesthanin2024,whilethetotalnumberofemployeesdeclinedby5%.

•Hard-to-fillrolesfallintotwogroups:rolesrequiredtoenable

technologicaltransformation,andindustry-specificroles,suchasunderwriters,claimsprofessionalsandpricinganalysts.

•Overall,earlycareersintakehasseenaminorincrease,includingmoreapprenticesandfewergraduates.

•Smallfluctuations,inlinewithchangingbusinessdemandandstrategicreviewsofgraduateandapprenticeshipprogrammes,havedriventhischange,possiblyinfluencedbyApprenticeshipLevyfundingreforms.

Hiringgrowsalongsideworkforcecontraction

Employmentfiguresinfinancialservicesgothroughcyclicalfluctuationsbuthaveremained

relativelystableoverthepastthreedecades

.1

In2025,thetotalnumberofemployeesdeclinedby5%inoursample,drivenbylargerfirmsinbankingandinsurance.Thistrendismirroredinpublicdata,wherethefinancialservicesworkforcedeclinedby4%betweenSeptember2024andSeptember2025.

2

Inaneconomymarkedbysluggishgrowth,BankofEnglanddataconfirmsflattoslightly

fallingheadcountplansintheshort-term.TheuseofgenerativeAItoolsgatheredmomentumandautomationmadeoperationalprocessesmoreefficient,whileimprovingfirms’abilitytoprovideservicesfortheircustomers.Thisreducedrelianceonadministrativestaffinindustriessuchasinsurance

.3

AnnualSkillsReport2026

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Headcountandhiringchange

Numberofemployees

-5%

+3%

0

UKheadcountHires

20242025

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

Source:FSSCMemberSurvey2025,datafrom32firms

Simultaneously,thenumberofnewhiresinfinancialservicessawanuptickof3%in2025.

Firmswerecontinuingtohireintotechnology,softwareandindustryspecialistrolesbutless

likelytobackfillleavers.Itisnotunusualforfirmstoseekaccesstotechnicalandstrategic

talentintimesofchange.Asweshallsee,therewasacontinuedtrendofhiringspecialistsintorolesthatarehard-to-fill,potentiallyindicatinga“hoarding”ofscarcespecialistsacrossthe

economy,accordingtoBankofEnglandsources

.4

Newchallengeslinkedtohighapplicationvolumes

Firmshavereportedasignificantincreaseinresponsestojobadverts,muchofwhichthey

attributetoasurgeinAIgeneratedsubmissions.Forexample,onememberfirm’sinternship

programmereceived8,000applications,manyofwhichwerealmostidentical.Thisleaves

firmsassessinglargeandgrowingvolumesofapplications,whichcanmakeithardertoidentifythebestskilledcandidates.AI’sroleintalentmanagementandhiringiscomplex,butmany

questionsregardingthegovernanceoftheuseofAI,andcontinuedhumanoversightofwiderrecruitmentprocesses,remainopen.

Memberstellusthelabourcostsofhighly-skilledemployeesareexpectedtoincreasemarkedlyovertimeasjobresponsibilitiesbecomemorecomplexandskillsrequirementsrise.Thisplacesevenmorepressureonmakingtherighthiringdecisionsatalllevels.

AnnualSkillsReport2026

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Hard-to-fillrolesreflectrapidtechnologicalchangeandindustryexpertise

Demandforspecialistscontinuedtobestrong,butmanyoftheserolesaredifficulttofill.Hard-to-fillrolesfallbroadlyintotwogroups:rolesrequiredtodrivetechnology-ledtransformation(e.g.developers,ITarchitects)andsector-specificroles(e.g.underwriters,claimsprofessionalsandpricinganalysts).Technology-relatedrolesareconstantlyevolvingsofirmshave

requirementsandjobopeningsthatdidn’texistjusttwoyearsago,suchasrolesfocussingonAIenablement.

Whilesomemightexpectsoftware-relatedrolestobecomeincreasinglylessin-demandwith

theproliferationofAI,thedatadoesnotyetreflectthis.Thereisapressingneedtoupdate

legacysystemsinordertomodernise,maintainresilience,andremainrelevanttocustomers,

whichinfluencesthecontinuingdemandforsoftware-relatedroles.Thistransformationrequiressystems,processesanddataflowstobesetup.Asfirmsincreasinglyrequireskillstodeliver

change,change-relatedprofessionalsremainequallysoughtafter.

Hard-to-fillrolesmentionedbymemberfirms

Technologyandchange-relatedroles

•Software/cloudengineer

•ITarchitect/solutionarchitect

•Datascientist

•Cybersecurityspecialist

•Dataanalyst

•Otherdata,AIandengineeringroles(e.g.quantumcomputing)

•Changespecialist

•Agileroles(Scrummaster,productowner)

Sector-specificroles

•Actuary

•Underwriter

•Businessanalyst/riskanalyst

•Pricinganalyst

•Riskpartner

•Auditor

•Claimsprofessions

•Mortgageconsultant

•Salesroles

•Lawyer/solicitor

•Financialplanner

Source:FSSCMemberSurvey2025,datafrom32firms

“(Wehave)introducedspecialistroles,includingHeadofAIandLeadAISolutionArchitect.”

Insurance&pensionsfirm

“RequisitionsforjobsinAIhaveincreased5.5xinthelastyearinourfirm.”

Bankingfirm

InsightfromMorganMcKinley’sEmploymentMonitorconfirmsthedemandtowardshigher-valuepositionsinaudit,taxandITmanagement.Theseroleshavealwaysbeencriticalrolesduetotheregulatorynatureofthesectorandremainsoasfirmsadapttoregulatoryanddigitalchange

.5

AnnualSkillsReport2026

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Earlycareersintakeincreasesmodestly

Despiteacommonnarrativethatearlycareersprogrammeshavedecreased,thisisnot

evidencedbythedatacollectedfromourmemberfirms.Infact,ourdatashowsthattheearlycareersintakehasincreasedto4,600.

Overallearlycareersrecruitmentgrewby2.5%in2025,withchangestothemixbetweenapprentices(up5%)andgraduates(down2%).Thisincludesdatafromfirmswhohave

employedgraduatesin2025butdidnotrunstructuredgraduateprogrammes.

Apprenticerecruitment2024-5Graduaterecruitment2024-5

Earlycareersrecruitment+2.5%

3,500

+5%

3,087

Numberofapprentices

Numberofgraduates

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

2,939

20242025

Source:FSSCMemberSurvey2024‑5,datafrom20firms.

Coversonlyexternalrecruitsintoearlycareerapprenticeships,

notcurrentemployeesstarting

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

20242025

-2%

1,5441,509

Source:FSSCMemberSurvey2025,datafrom22firms

TheApprenticeshipLevy–currentlya0.5%levyonsalarybillsover£3m–canonlybeusedtofundapprenticeshiptraining.Graduatescanberecruitedontoanapprenticeshipprogrammetobuildtechnicalskills(e.g.riskandcompliance)butaremorelikelytobefundedbycorporatelearningbudgets.Workexperienceandotherinternshipprogrammesarewidelyofferedby

firmsbutrarelyreceiveexternalfunding.

Strategyandskillsclarityarereshapingearlycareers

Althoughfirmsaremakingsomeadjustmentstothetypeandvolumeofearlycareers

programmes,allremaincommittedtobringingskilledyoungtalentintotheorganisation.

Changesinnumbersorprogrammetypestendtobesmall,driveneitherbybusinessdemand

(mentionedbyeightfirms)orbystrategicreviewsofgraduateversusapprenticeshipprovision

(fivefirms).Somefirmssaidtheyhiregraduateseveryotheryear.Othershavepreviouslyrecruitedmanygraduatesinthepastandnowseektobalancethiswithotherearlycareersroutes.

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents10

Beingaskills-basedorganisationbringsclaritytothepresenceofskillsgaps.Italsohighlights

whatisrequiredofthetalentpipelinetoensurefirmscanmanagetheirskillsstrategyeffectivelyovertime.Itcanfacilitateearlycareersintakebyhelpingfirmstolookbeyonddirectexperienceandformalqualifications,suchasuniversitydegrees,forthemostsuitablecandidates.

“In2024,weredesignedourexistinggraduateprogramme,removingthe

requirementtohaveanundergraduatedegree.Thequalityofcandidatesapplyingwithoutadegreewassuchthatmanyofthesecandidatesweresuccessfulandfewergraduateswerehired.”

Bankingfirm

“Thereductioninnumbersforthegraduateprogrammereflectsadeliberate

shiftinourearlycareerstrategy,prioritisingschoolleaverapprenticeshipsto

attracttalentatanearlierstage.In2026,therewillbeatargetedefforttofurtherleverageapprenticeshipswithinactuarialareas.”

Insurance&pensionsfirm

Individualfirmsexpandedondeliberateshiftstowardsworkexperience,internshipsand

T–levelsasfeedersintotheirapprenticeshipprogrammes.Twofirmsspecificallymentionedremovingdegreerequirementstoensureawiderrangeoftalentcouldapply,whileonefirmreportedanincreasedfocusonmaster’sandPhDgraduates–indicatingthatthereisno‘one

sizefitsall’approach.

“Ourjuniorisationstrategyinvolvesgreateravailabilityofjuniorrolestohelpwithcareerpathways,re-evaluatingroleswhenincumbentsexittocreatemorejuniorpositionsandreviewingspansandlayersforincreasedmanagementcontrol.”

Bankingfirm

ReformstoApprenticeshipLevyfunding,andothercostconsiderations,mayhavepartly

driventheincreaseinapprenticeshipprogrammes.Itcanbeadvantageousforfirmstorun

Levy-fundedprogrammesinfavourofgraduateprogrammeswhichcannotuseLevyfunding.ChangestotheApprenticeshipLevyfundingforover-25smayhavesupportedthistrendin

2025asfirmsracedtoputcandidatesonLevel7apprenticeshipsbeforetheDecember2025deadline.Moreover,the‘unspent’Levyrolloverwasreducedto12months(from24months)inSeptember2025,whichislikelyalsodrivingincreasedspend.

Debatecontinuesoverfutureworkforceshapeandsize

Earlycareersintakesmatterinthecontextoftechnologicalchange.Currently,almostallfirmsofferapprenticeshipprogrammes(94%),andtwothirdsoffergraduateprogrammes.More

thanhalfoffirmsofferinternshipsandonementionedT-levels.Whileentry-levelrolesmight

increaseincomplexity,andreduceinnumberinfuture,thedatadoesnotcurrentlyindicateashifttoadifferentworkforceshapeatpresent.Thisisalivediscussioninthesector,particularlyduetotheimpactofAItools.

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents11

Amovingtarget:

Skillsdemandoutpacessupply

•ThreequartersoffirmsfoundthatAIimpacteddemandforskillsintheirorganisationin2025,andskillstrendsareheavilyinfluencedbythesechangesintechnology.

•Whileitseemedthattechnicalskillsgapswerenarrowingin2024,theyincreasedagainin2025.Shiftingskillsgapsareaconstant

challengeforfirmstomanage.

•Machinelearning/AIhastakenoverfromdataanalysisasthemostin-demandtechnicalskill.Adaptabilityhasdisplacedcoachingasthemostin-demandbehaviourandalsoshowsthebiggestoverallsupply-demandgap.Thebiggesttechnicalsupply-demandgapisincybersecurity.

•Althoughmanymembersarestillearlyintheirmaturity,

momentumisbuildingtowardbecomingskills-based,whichisseenasessentialtoclosingskillsgaps.

•Smallerfirmshavefewerresourcestodeploytechnologywhenundertakingskillsassessmentsthanlargerfirmsbutbenefitfromamorepersonalunderstandingoftheirsmallercolleaguebase.

•2025sawthereleaseoftheUK’sStandardSkillsClassification,acommonlanguageonskillswhichisdesignedtoenablemore

targetedskillsplanningandbetterlabour-marketanalysis.

Skills–amovingtarget

TheCommissionhasbeenmonitoringskillsgapsforoverfiveyears.Wedothisbymeasuringthedifferencebetweenthenumberoffirmsseeinggrowthindemandcomparedtogrowthinsupplyforaparticularskill.Thisyear’sdataisbasedonthelargestsampleofmembersyet.

Attimeswehaveseenevidenceofskillsgapsnarrowing.Intheseinstances,firmshave

implementedtrainingactivityorseenchangesinthelabourmarketthatresultedinhigher

supplytomeettheirdemand.Whilegapshavealwaysexistedaroundthe13futureskills,thefocusonanyoneparticularskillhascontinuallychanged,asmembershaverespondedtotheirevolvingneeds.Shiftingskillsgapsareaconstantchallengeforfirmstomanage–asortof

movingtarget–ratherthanaproblemthatcanbesolvedonceandforall.

AIadoptionisreshapingskillsdemandsacrossallroles

AfterseveralyearsofanecdotalevidenceandfuturegazinginrelationtoAI,wearenowseeingitbeingembeddedintobusinessprocesses.ThreequartersoffirmsfoundAIimpactedinternaldemandforskillsintheirorganisationin2025,withtheremainingrespondentsbeingunsure.

Our2025skillstrends(seebelow)areheavilyinfluencedbythesechangesintechnology.Thisisunsurprising,givenpreviousresearchidentifyingfinancialservicesasbeingahighlyimpactedsectorbyvariousformsofAI

.6

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents12

FirmshavetoldusthattheyhaveinitiallyadoptedgenerativeAItofacilitatetaskslike

notetakingandmeetingpreparation,creatingoperationalefficiencyandimprovingservicesforcustomers.Somehaveremovedtransactionalprocessesandimprovedaccessibility,particularlyforneurodiversecolleagues.

Manyfirmsreportwide-scaledeploymentsofAIplatformssuchasMicrosoftCopilot,ChatGPTandAiden.OnefirmnotedthatthesechangesareintendedtohelpretainstrategicallycriticalrolesintheUK,whiletransactionalprocessesmaybeautomatedoroff-shored.

WeareexploringthesefindingsthrougharesearchprojectontheimpactofAIandother

disruptivetechnologiesonthesector’sworkforceandskills.CommissionedbyHMTreasuryinJuly2025underthegovernment’sten-yearfinancialservicesstrategy,thisworkwillleadtoaninterimreportinMay2026outliningcurrentandemergingtechnologies,theiropportunities,andtheirexpectedimpactacrosscustomers,firmsandregions.

“Itisunclearyet,butAImayincreasethelevelofautomationavailablewithinouroperationsprocesswhichmayimpactfutureskilldemand.”

Memberfirm

FirmsthatsaidAIimpactedtheirskillsdemandin2025

Unclear25

75%Yes

%

Source:FSSCMemberSurvey2025,datafrom32firms

“AIhasreshapedourskillslandscapein2025.HigherdemandincludesAIliteracyacrossallroles,promptengineering,dataanalysis,andethicalAIgovernance.Lowerdemandisseeninmanualdataprocessingandroutineadministrativetasks.“

Insurance&pensionsfirm

AnnualSkillsReport2026

Jumptocontents