Emerging tech skills such as robotic process automation, blockchain and cloud will be more in-demand in the next 12 to 18 months.
The demand for skilled tech workers in the fund and asset management sector is expected to increase significantly over the next few months, according to a new report.
Companies operating in the financial services sector are already demonstrating an interest in hiring workers with robotic process automation skills, cloud skills and blockchain knowledge.
That’s according to a report by Fastrack into Information Technology (FIT) and Irish Funds, the body that represents Ireland’s funds and assets management industry. The two organisations carried out a skills audit of the sector that involved 20 different companies.
Some of the companies involved included Accenture, Deloitte, Expleo, EY, FD Technologies, Fenergo, Grant Thornton, HSBC, JPMorgan and PwC.
The companies were asked about the kinds of ICT skills they were planning to hire for in the coming months.
The findings showed that the demand for ICT skills was stronger at entry and mid-levels than at expert levels.
While software development and methodologies skills were highlighted as being in demand by these companies, a growing focus on emerging tech skills was also identified in the report.
The demand for cloud computing skills is expected to grow by 236pc over the coming 12 to 18 months. Demand for blockchain skills will double, while demand for robotic process automation skills will increase by 65pc.
The study recommends a multi-faceted approach to growing technological talent in Ireland.
“With the digitalisation of society, it is critical that we embrace technological change and develop the skills to harness its potential,” said Pat Lardner, CEO of Irish Funds.
Lardner added that the results of the survey highlighted “the strong ambition” of the Irish funds sector to expand the skills of its workforce and hire new talent to meet the requirements of the digital future.
“This will create exciting opportunities for existing and emerging IT professionals to work in our industry,” Lardner said.
Also commenting on the findings of the report, Peter Davitt, CEO of FIT, said that there should be a “re-conceptualisation of what international financial services are,” as well as “radical changes” in how they are provided and a “major reappraisal of the industry’s core talent requirements and how they are met”.
FIT runs a variety of ICT programmes designed to encourage more people to get into tech careers. These include schemes aimed at women and the StepIn2Tech programme, which it developed with Microsoft.
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