Finsia fights for talent

Under 30s decline in financial services

By Julie May
Mon 28 Jul 2008

Finsia launches two career-incentive initiatives with hopes of attracting young newcomers and retaining skilled professionals.

The Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia) has rolled out a number of new initiatives which it hopes will attract fresh talent to Australia's financial services industry.

Finsia has launched a career portal on its website, and a career profile DVD for distribution across secondary and tertiary education institutions. 

The career portal provides information on different sectors and career options, as well as other resources.

The DVD features a day in the life of several Finsia members in the early stages of their careers, working as graduates in various parts of the industry.

The initiative follows the release of Finsia's 10-year research paper, by Roy Morgan Research, which examined the key issue of attracting and retaining skilled employees in Australia's financial services industry.

"Disappointingly, our recent research revealed that we simply aren't capturing our fair share of the dwindling pool of young talent," Finsia chief executive Martin Fahy said.

The proportion of the finance sector aged under 30 has declined over the past 10 years, down 6 per cent, while the proportion aged 60 and over has grown considerably, up 3 per cent, research showed.

Finsia wants to ensure that experienced professionals who may be transitioning back into the industry have supporting advice available and that school leavers and graduates are aware of the diverse opportunities, Fahy said.

"Australia's competitive advantage in global financial markets will increasingly depend on our capacity to maintain a skilled pool of professionals ...... so it's critical that we are constantly planning and recruiting for the future of the industry."

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