Financial Services | Technology Recruitment Trends August 2021

​We’re often asked to identify recruitment trends within our sectors, such as in IT and Regulatory Change. Our FS team have identified several trends through conversations with our network of senior candidates and our key clients.

Many Financial Services firms in London are increasingly prioritising their Technology functions’ capacity to adapt and respond to change in order to maintain ‘business as usual’.

In June 2021, Bloomberg reported a recent tripling of London-based Financial Services roles, with the total number of vacancies up by 193% since last year.

Whilst the beginning of 2020 was characterised by a reluctance to invest in new systems and infrastructure in favour of staying afloat, we’re now experiencing a well-received rebound in the market, with a drastic increase in the number of vacancies (both contract and permanent) to address these issues and meet these elevated industry standards.

As well as an increase in the frequency of hiring, our Financial Services team is now noticing a set of distinctly different priorities across the FS industry, which can largely be attributed to firms’ familiarity with new ways of working, the shift in mindset from maintenance to growth, and a recognition of the importance of robust yet flexible Technology departments.

Three main areas we have noticed increased attention in are:

Windows Engineering & Migration

Providing production support both pre and post migration across the entire MS infra stack including MS Exchange, IIS, AD, Citrix, and VMware Focussing more emphasis on non-functional concepts that underpin an enterprise solution - security, resilience etc.

Cybersecurity & Operational Resilience

Increasing clarification from the regulator has necessitated increased action around improving Operational Resilience and Cyber Security frameworks Firms are focussing more on improving their process Risk and Compliance Framework design and development, aligning to regulation and industry standards e.g. ISO, ISF, ITIL, COBIT5, NIST There is a specific emphasis on policy drafting, review, and adaption

Data Privacy

Firms are conducting an increasing number of Data Protection Impact Assessments to ensure that they adhere to regulations They are also supporting the delivery of training to multiple departments, relying on SME interpretation of specific legislation and communicating bespoke changes specific to each team

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​To discuss these trends, your job search, or any upcoming recruitment plans, please call or message Alexander David on adavid@venngroup.com or 020 7557 7667. 

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