toronto's fintech talent challenge - ryerson university · 2020-05-14 · toronto's...

Toronto's FinTech Talent ChallengeAn environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates

May 2017

This report was developed in consultation with the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, and is supported by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund.

Toronto’s FinTech Talent Challenge, May 20172

This report was developed in consultation with the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, and is supported by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund.

This research study was granted ethics approval from the Ryerson Ethics Research Board in January 2017.

Research conducted by:Cate FlanaganResearch Assistant - Faculty of Science, Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Amir ModjtahediPost Doctoral Fellow - Faculty of Science, Ryerson University350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3E-mail: [email protected]

Principal Investigator:Dr. Imogen CoeDean - Faculty of Science, Ryerson University350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3E-mail: [email protected]

A sincere thank you to all team members who are making this project happen:Allen GossChair, Dept. of FinanceTed Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University

Caroline KonradDirector Career Centre, Ryerson University

Dejan DelicChair, Dept. of Math Faculty of Science, Ryerson University

Eric HarleyChair, Dept. of Computer ScienceFaculty of Science, Ryerson University

Janet EckerCEOToronto Financial Services Alliance

Linying DongAssociate Professor Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management,Ryerson University

Mohammad Adnan SyedManager, Research Programs, Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives Faculty of Science, Ryerson University

Sashya D'SouzaVice President Centre for Excellence in Financial Services Education

An environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTechnology is a key contributor to transforming the financial services sector, a fact supported in recent research conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), KPMG, EY and other industry-focused consulting firms. However, both the financial services sector and the financial technology (FinTech) industry in Toronto, as elsewhere, face mounting concerns related to attracting and retaining skilled talent that is necessary for their firms to sustain and grow now and into the future. Specialized talent that combines financial and digital skills are required to develop innovative and cost-efficient FinTech solutions. This report examines the current challenges faced by organizations in Toronto’s FinTech space, as well as the distinct skills that are lacking within their workforces. The report aims to inform postsecondary educational institutions (PSEs) and employers about strategies for reducing the FinTech talent shortage in the Toronto region.

This report compliments an extensive literature review of the global FinTech talent shortage as a part of a larger research project, led by various collaborators1 at Ryerson University, that aims to respond to the financial services talent shortage in the GTA. The aim of this report in particular is to understand the talent shortage from the perspectives of both industry leaders and recent

graduates who are in FinTech related positions. The report also reflects on how existing academic programs can be enhanced to better suit FinTech related talent needs of the Toronto region.

Interviews with the industry leaders and recent graduates helped to define the key challenges leading to the FinTech talent gap in the GTA.

Key findings show that technology graduates:• Prefer to work for big technology companies

(e.g., Google, Facebook, Amazon) or for small, agile tech companies and start-ups;

• Are not interested in working for financial institutions;

• Have high salary expectations;• Often lack experiential learning prior to

entering the workforce;• Do not usually have banking domain

knowledge; and• Are not aware of tech/FinTech roles in the

finance sector.

¹ Partners include associates from: Ryerson Career Centre; Ted Rogers School of Management, and; Faculty of Science.


INTRODUCTION 4

METHODOLOGY 6

INTERVIEW RESULTS: RECENT GRADUATES 8

Demographics 8

Roles and Responsibilities of Recent Graduates in FinTech Positions 9

How did you secure a job in the FinTech industry? 10 Previous Employment Opportunities 11 Professional Network 11 Key Skills 11

What is your advice for recent graduates looking for a FinTech job? 12 Technical ("hard") Skills 12 Transferable ("soft") Skills 12

What are the main challenges that recent graduates face when attempting to get a FinTech job? 13 Lack of Interest in FinTech Opportunities 13 Limited Technical Skills and Knowledge of Financial Institutions 13 Underdeveloped Transferable Skills 13 Lack of Experiential Learning Opportunities such as Co-ops or Internships 13

What additional training or qualifications are attractive when starting a career in FinTech? 14

What are your recommended modifications to your university education to help students secure FinTech jobs? 15

How did your postsecondary education impact your ability to gain a FinTech job? 16 Strengths of Postsecondary Education 16 Weaknesses of Postsecondary Education 16



INTERVIEW RESULTS: INDUSTRY LEADERS 18

Demographics 18

Sector Backdrop: The current Scope of FinTech within participatingorganizations 19

The vision for expansion of FinTech within the organization 20

Forecasted hiring needs for FinTech roles in the organizations 21

Preferred university programs and university graduatesfor FinTech positions 24 Preferred university Programs 22 Preferred universities from which to hire graduates 23

The main roles and skills associated with FinTech positions 24

Current challenges filling FinTech positions 26

What certificates/trainings could adult learners and career changers obtain to be considered for a FinTech position in the organization? 26

Suggestions and recommendations for postsecondary educational institutions 28

Satisfaction level with the recently hired graduates for FinTech position: 29

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED 30

REFERENCES 30



INTRODUCTIONKPMG defines FinTech as technology-based businesses that compete against, enable, and/or collaborate with financial institutions. This ranges from the creation of software processes that enable financial institutions to enhance their customers’ experiences and streamline their operations, to providing opportunities for consumers to fulfil their financial needs (saving, investing, making payments). The industry encompasses 1) new start-ups and ventures (in FinTech); 2) the activities and investment in technology innovation from established financial services institutions as well as ICT/technology providers, and; 3) collaboration between these parties or ‘disruptive innovation’ by any of them individually (Pollari, 2016).

In a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Global Banking and Capital Markets (BCM), a vast majority of CEOs (93%) identified technology changes to be a key contributor to transformation in the sector over the next five years (PwC, 2016). The financial services sector must be able to respond to this transformation and therefore, will require labour talent that combines strong financial and digital skills (PwC, 2016).

Through this report, we explore and discuss the findings of our recent research concerning how universities should prepare for and respond to the FinTech talent shortage in the GTA.

The research study includes the perspectives of experienced industry leaders and recently graduated university students who have FinTech related roles.

These perspectives were collected by conducting two separate semi-structured interviews using the following themes:

• Industry leaders’ interview theme was to elicit their description of the FinTech talent shortage and the talent gap they see between the current talent supply and their needs. They were also asked to make recommendations for how to address this issue through educational institutions such as Ryerson University.

• Recent graduates’ interview theme was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the existing academic programs that currently contribute to the majority of hiring of new graduates in FinTech.

An environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates 5An environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates 5


The data used in this research come from the following two main sources:

METHODOLOGY

6

Qualitative semi-structured interviews with recent graduates from Canadian postsecondary educational (PSE) institutions were conducted between February and April 2017. A total of 11 participants from this group were recruited with the support of Ryerson University’s alumni databases, as well as internal referrals from participants. Recruitment criteria were defined as i) students who have graduated within the last seven years from a PSE, and ii) were enrolled in one of the following programs: Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, Accounting and Finance, or Information/Business Technology Management.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews with industry leaders from Canadian financial services industry, including the big banks, insurance, brokerage and financial service providers, as well as IT companies providing services to the financial services industry. LinkedIn search features were used to find a list of potential candidates for this group from mainly Human Resources, Campus Recruitment, Innovation and Technology, IT and Operation Management, and any FinTech related roles involved in the financial services sector in the GTA. Further support from Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) and Ryerson’s Career Centre were received regarding facilitating the recruitment process of participants.

24 Industry Leaders11 Recent Graduates



For recent graduate group:• Their current position and how it relates to the

FinTech industry, • Their career progression between graduation and

securing their current position, • Challenges that new graduates may face when

entering the FinTech industry, • Additional certifications or qualifications they

pursued when considering a job in the FinTech industry,

• Advice for new graduates looking to secure a FinTech-related position,

• Recommended modifications to their postsecondary education program, and

• The strengths and weaknesses of their postsecondary education in preparing them for their current position.

For industry leader interviews:• The current scope of FinTech within their

organization,• The vision for expansion of FinTech within their

organization,• Forecast of hiring needs for FinTech in their

organization,• Preferred university programs and university

graduates for FinTech positions,• The main roles and skills associated to entry-level/

graduate FinTech positions,• Current challenges for hiring entry-level/graduate

FinTech positions,• What qualifications/trainings could adult learners/

career changers obtain to be considered for a FinTech position in the organization?

• Suggestions/recommendations for postsecondary educational institutions, and

• Satisfaction level with the recently hired graduates for FinTech positions.

•

Email invitations outlining the study’s purpose, implications, and the data collection process were sent to 97 recent graduates and 68 industry leaders. A total of 11 recent graduates and 24 industry leaders participated in the study. All interviews were conducted between February and April 2017. To ensure data consistency, the researchers used a structured interview with predefined questions to lead conversation. Interview questions addressed the following topics:

7An environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates


The majority of recent graduate participants attended Ryerson University for their postsecondary education (7 out of 11). However, there was representation from additional universities including McMaster University (3 out of 11) and Wilfrid Laurier University (1 out of 11). The year of graduation for participants ranged between 2010 to 2016. The participants were enrolled in a variety of programs, as depicted in the following chart.

Demographics

INTERVIEW RESULTS:RECENT GRADUATES

Respondents' Alma Mater

7 out of 11Ryerson

3 out of 11McMaster

1 out of 11Wilfrid Laurier

Figure 1: Number of Recent Graduates that Graduated from each Postsecondary Program.

Number of Recent Graduate Participants per Program



Responsibilities No. of Participants

Acting as a Translator between Technology and Business Staff 4

Managing Databases 4

Managing User Access to Bank Applications 4

Data Visualization 3

Planning and Forecasting 3

Backend Programming 2

Design and Implement Technology Solutions/Applications 2

Financial Reporting Technology Infrastructure 2

Presenting Research and Recommendations to Senior Management 2

Risk and Fraud Analysis 2

User Interface Design 2

Contributing to Financial Institution Digital Strategy 1

Control Testing 1

Data Mining 1

Enterprise Level Development 1

Project Management 1

Web Development 1

Roles and Responsibilities of Recent Graduates in FinTech Positions

The participants of this study who were recent graduates were employed in a variety of FinTech-related positions, including: Junior/Senior Operations Specialist, Financial Analyst, Technology Risk Analyst, Digital Analyst, IT Business Analyst, Business Analyst, Application Developer, and Solutions Architect.

When asked if they specifically targeted a position within the FinTech industry, only 27% of recent graduates reported yes. The majority of recent graduates stated that the reason they accepted their current position is because it was either the only employment offer they received, a friend or family member referred them, or they were interested in exploring a new industry.

Table 1 below illustrates the various responsibilities that recent graduates perform in their FinTech-related positions.

Recent graduates stated that FinTech-related positions require an array of digital, reporting, and automation tools. Commonly mentioned productivity tools used by recent graduates included Microsoft Excel, Spotfire, and Tableau. FinTech positions that are more technology-focused required knowledge of various programming languages for frontend and backend development, as well as web development and application software.

Table 1: FinTech-related Position Responsibilities for Recent Graduates.



When asked if their current job was their first position in the FinTech industry, recent graduates were almost equally divided in response.

Participants who stated that their current role is their first FinTech-related position commonly expressed that it was their only offer of employment or they were referred internally by a family or friend. Alternatively, the recent graduates that aspired to secure a job in the FinTech industry associated their success to their previous employment opportunities and their professional network. These factors are explored in more detail in the following sections.

How did you secure a job in the FinTech industry?

Interview Results: Recent Graduates

10

Figure 2: Percentage of Recent Graduates that were Employed in their First FinTech Position.

Recent Graduates that were Employed in their First FinTech Position



1. Previous Employment Opportunities

Recent graduates that specifically targeted a job in FinTech expressed the importance of their past experience through co-operative education, internships, or full time employment after graduation. 64% of recent graduate participants stated they had completed internships or had been involved in co-operative education. Specifically, the majority of these recent graduates noted that their previous employment was within the financial services sector, information technology sector, or technology start-ups. This experience assisted them in securing their FinTech-related position as they gained a strong understanding how technology can be leveraged to improve business processes, project management, real-world experience on their resume, exposure to technology tools and applications, and the ability to work closely with developers.

2. Professional Network

A common theme discussed by recent graduates was the significance of having close mentors, as well as a productive and professional network for assistance in securing FinTech-related positions. More than 50% of the participants stated they secured their current FinTech-related position through the referral of a mentor, family member, professor, or a senior employee they met through a networking event. Many participants expressed the challenges of ‘standing out’ among a variety of students with similar degrees to recruiters, and that the insights and referral from a professional connection was critical to their success.

11

Figure 3: Key Skills for Securing a Job in the FinTech Industry.

Key Skills for Securing a Job in the FinTech Industry

3. Key Skills

Recent graduates pointed to a number of key skills that helped them secure a position in the industry. The identified skills ranged from technical (hard) to transferable (soft) skills, and were typically developed during their previous employment and through their postsecondary education. Recent graduates mentioned that these key skills were attractive to employers, and were valuable assets on their employment applications.

An environmental scan of the FinTech talent needs through the perspectives of industry leaders and recent graduates


What is your advice for recent graduates looking for a FinTech job?

Recent graduate participants alluded to a diverse array of skills that would help other recent graduate students find a job in the FinTech industry. Tables 2 and 3 summarize these responses, categorized into: 1) Transferable (“soft”) Skills, which include skillsets that are sometimes self-taught and developed over time through different experiences, and; 2) Technical (“hard”) Skills, representing specific technical competencies or teachable skill sets that are easily quantifiable.

Skills No. of Participants

SQL 6

Microsoft Excel 5

Data Visualization 3

Understanding of Information Security/Encryption 3

Web Development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) 3

Ability to Debug 2

Cloud Computing/Cloud Infrastructure 2

Data Analytics/Data Science 2

Database Management 2

Exposure to Legacy Systems 2

Java 2

Knowledge of Finance and Accounting Concepts 2

Unix 2

C+ 1

C++ 1

Microsoft Access 1

Microsoft PowerPoint 1

Shell Scripting 1

Six Sigma Black Belt Certification 1

Python 1

Skills No. of Participants

Work Integrated Learning Opportunities 5

Communication 4

Networking 4

Project Management 3

Teamwork 3

Understanding of Emerging Technologies 3 Understanding of the Financial Services/Banking 3

Ability to Speak to Senior Management 2

Leadership 2

Ability to Listen 1

Confidence 1

Presentation 1 Time Management 1


12

Table 2: Transferable ("soft") skills identified by recent graduates as important for new graduates seeking employment in FinTech.

Table 3: Technical ("hard") skills identified by recent graduates as important for new graduates seeking employment in FinTech.



What are the main challenges that recent graduates face when attempting to get a FinTech job?

In terms of challenges facing recent graduates, participants cited the following primary themes:

Lack of Interest in FinTech Opportunities: Survey Survey participants (who graduated from STEM-related fields) mentioned that current postsecondary education programs do not inspire students to work towards a career in computer programming or FinTech. Students are not exposed to the multitude of technology opportunities that are offered by a bank, and are likely not passionate about starting a career in the sector. This lack of interest and exposure provides little incentive for students and recent graduates to practice coding as an extra-curricular activity - which is deemed critical by some participants to secure a job in the FinTech industry. In addition, students are not interested in applying for jobs that the banks are currently looking to fill. As banks and financial institutions are slow-moving and risk-averse, and are not as agile as start-up companies, they generate limited interest from recent graduates who are looking for exciting careers in technology.

Limited Technical Skills and Knowledge of Financial Institutions: Approximately half of the participants stated that recent graduates do not have the necessary level of technical competency to gain a job in the FinTech sector. Participants pointed to the fact that the technology courses they took in school were too basic to gain the skills needed to understand the complex aspects of FinTech - including agile technology development, encryption, information security, user experience, and user interface. Further, participants discussed that having a limited knowledge of MS Excel, SQL, back end technology, and systems administration is a significant challenge for recent graduates looking to enter the FinTech sector. Beyond technical competencies, Recent Graduate participants discussed that the technical education did not touch upon concepts of banking, financial services, or legacy systems. Not having a prior exposure to banks processes presents a significant challenge for recent graduates interested in pursuing a career in FinTech.

Underdeveloped Transferable Skills: A common theme expressed by recent graduates was that postsecondary education experience did not provide enough opportunities to encourage them to develop their transferable skills. Specifically, participants noted that students are not adept at presenting their research to others or engaging with senior management – two skills that are essential in FinTech-related positions. Communication skills, both written and oral, were additionally noted as significant challenges for recent graduates. Many participants explained that recent graduate hires are under pressure by their supervisors to bring new visions, perspectives, and innovation to the team. By not having the necessary transferable skills in communication, confidence, and creative thinking, recent graduates may have difficulty securing their first FinTech-related position.

Lack of Experiential Learning Opportunities such as Co-ops or Internships: Co-operative education (co-op), access to internships and other work integrated learning opportunities or campus recruiters, and job-shadowing opportunities were identified by recent graduates as key factors toward securing a job in the FinTech sector. Participants expressed that FinTech positions were competitive, and that students with co-op experience would likely get an interview over someone with no prior experience. As FinTech and financial digitalization is an emerging space within existing banking processes, much of the knowledge needed for FinTech-related positions is currently learned on the job. Without previous work-integrated learning experiences, recent graduates lose opportunities to gain practical knowledge and will subsequently face challenges when applying for positions upon graduation.



What additional training or qualifications are attractive when starting a career in FinTech?

Recent graduates pointed to multiple training programs or qualifications they were pursuing in order to advance their career and secure jobs within the FinTech field. The majority of recent graduates mentioned they did not receive enough technical training in their postsecondary education, and therefore were either currently enrolled or considering enrollment in courses that would help them develop computer programming skills, technological knowledge, or better understand the financial services industry. About one third (36%) of recent graduates stated they were preparing for a professional designation that would make them more attractive candidates to recruiters in the FinTech industry. The most common technical training and professional designations identified are summarized:

Technical Training• Predictive Analytics and Data Analysis• Finance Fundamentals• MS Excel• Android/iOS Programming• SQL

Professional Designations• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)• Project Management Professional (PMP)• Canadian Security Courses • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)• Master of Business Administration• Enterprise Architecture Certificate


14 Toronto’s FinTech Talent Challenge, May 2017


1. An increase in technical education. Proposed new courses should cover topics including information security, data analytics, data science, data governance, security architecture, systems administration, and industry relevant databases. Further, existing courses on MS Excel, mobile development, application programming, SQL, Java, and other software languages should be expanded and should include more hands-on assignments.

2. Better alignment of curriculum content and university events to industry. Universities need to provide more opportunities to merge academic passions and knowledge with different technology sectors. For the FinTech sector, participants explored the idea of bringing in industry experts to teach courses on Canadian banking, financial regulation and law, and the practice of stakeholder engagement. Many participants had expressed the need for universities to bridge curricula with industry leaders to pinpoint current needs and collaborate to build relevant and compelling course content.

3. Case-based learning approaches. By designing more consistent assignments that provide opportunities to work in a team and apply technical knowledge, participants stated that students would gain valuable skills in project and people management. Case-based learning would help students stay on top of tasks and develop good work ethic and attention to detail – skills that are invaluable within a FinTech-related role. Participants noted that case-based learning should be hands-on, be offered as capstone projects, and could simulate real world experience by using assignments to expose students to the dynamic FinTech sector and its challenges.

What are your recommended modifications to your university education to help students secure FinTech jobs?

In terms of program improvements, research participants provided several suggestions for modifying the postsecondary education experience. Table 4 summarizes the frequency in which these recommendations were offered. This question asked participants to imagine themselves as newly-appointed program directors and was mandated to help students secure jobs in the FinTech sector. For this report the top three recommendations highlighted are explained in greater detail:

Recommendations No. of Participants

Increase Technical Education 10

Align Curriculum Content and University Events with Industry 7

Case Based Learning 7

More Exposure to the FinTech Industry 6

Offer Courses for Professional Development and Communication 5

Offer Courses that Translate into Professional Designations and Certificates (CPA, PMP, CISSP) 4

Offer a FinTech Specialization 3

Co-op, Internship, and Job Shadowing Opportunities 2

15

Table 4: Suggested recommendations from research participants for modifying university education to help students secure FinTech jobs.



How did your postsecondary education impact your ability to gain a FinTech job?

The following strengths and weaknesses have been consolidated based on the perceptions of recent graduates from multiple postsecondary educational programs and institutions. These insights provide a general overview of how postsecondary education can both prepare and hinder students in securing a FinTech-related position.

Strengths of Postsecondary EducationWhen discussing the strengths of their postsecondary education, recent graduates mentioned several positive aspects of their experience that helped them get their current FinTech-related positions (Figure 4). These strengths include: • Emphasis on business knowledge, • Professional education courses (professional communication), • Technical courses (Java, SQL, Mainframe, Unix, C), • Interdisciplinary nature of the program (strong balance between

course offerings), • Real-world practical assignments (case-based learning, aligning

assignments with industry),• Work-integrated learning opportunities, and • The ability to attend alumni events.

According to study participants, the most significant strengths in helping them secure their current positions were technical courses and co-op opportunities.

Weaknesses of Postsecondary Education In contrast, recent graduates also discussed a variety of weaknesses of their postsecondary education. These perceived weaknesses were further connected to reasons why they consider professional certifications or continuing education courses. The weaknesses include:

• Lack of technical courses, • FinTech and banking opportunities were not promoted in the program, • Lack of Microsoft Excel courses, • The curriculum was too broad or was not aligned with industry, • Lack of financial education courses, • Lack of opportunities for job-shadowing, and • Insufficient opportunities to develop project management skills.

Although recent graduates mentioned that technical courses were the greatest strength of their education programs, they discussed that the level of technical knowledge was not detailed enough and that the programs were not comprehensive or relevant enough to produce data scientists or agile developers. Excluding those in Computer Science, many of the programs did not focus on technology. Participants mentioned that students are not exposed enough to form an interest in FinTech and have no motivation or incentive to develop their technology skills.




Figure 4: Responses to strengths of Postsecondary Education.

Reported Strengths of Postsecondary Education by Recent Graduates

Figure 5: Responses to weaknesses of Postsecondary Education.

Reported Weaknesses of Postsecondary Education by Recent Graduates



In total, 24 industry experts from both financial institutions (mainly the big Canadian banks) and the IT companies that service financial institutions participated in the research. The majority of industry participants came from financial institutions (75%) and over 79% of the participants had a director-level or higher position in their organization. Tables 5 and 6, and Figures 6 and 7 summarize the demographic composition of the study’s industry participants.

Demographics

INTERVIEW RESULTS:INDUSTRY LEADERS

Par�cipant's Department/Field

Number of Par�cipants working as a: Total Director

or higher Senior

Manager Intermediate Level Posi�on

Human Resources 6 1 2 9

Informa�on Technology 13 1 0 14

Sales/Marke�ng 0 1 0 1

Total Par�cipants 19 3 2 24

Industry Type (Financial Institution or IT) Core Service Number of

Participants Financial Institution Financial Services-Banking 16 Financial Services-Brokerage 1 Financial Services-Insurance 1 Financial Institution Total 18 Information Technology IT Services 6 Information Technology Total 6

Grand Total 24

18

Figure 6: Demographic composition of industry leader

participants of the study.

Demographics of Industry Expert Participants based on Industry Type and Core Service

Figure 7: Demographic composition of industry leader

participants of the study by participants' position.

Demographics of Industry Expert Participants based on the Pariticipant's Position

Table 5: Demographics of industry expert participants – based on their industry type and core service.

Table 6: Demographic composition of industry leader participants of the study.



Financial Services - Banks: The interview results and analysis have shown that most Canadian banks are adopting similar strategies and approaches to respond to the opportunities and challenges created by the emerging technologies and FinTech. All participants from the banking sector felt that:

• All aspects of FinTech are related to banks.• Banks are going through a digital transformation

and their operation model is changing based on the emerging technologies and FinTech.

• Most banks are acquiring FinTech by outsourcing to smaller companies and are partnering with start-ups who have capabilities and innovations that apply to the banks’ processes.

• Banks are trying to support FinTech start-ups rather than competing with them.

• The major changes regarding FinTech started in 2014.

• Online and Mobile Banking, Biometrics, Big Data, Chatbot, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Robotic and Blockchain are among the most considered/desired FinTech topics/projects within the banks.

Sector Backdrop: The current scope of FinTech within participating organizations

Industry experts were asked to define the current scope of FinTech within their organization. The results of data analysis have been categorized and presented based on four core services: Banking; Insurance; Brokerages, and; IT Services.

Company ID Core Services % of Clients In

Finance Sector 6 Software Solutions 100% 7 Blockchain 40%

10

Reg Tech, Cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain

100%

11 Blockchain 50%

12 Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Did not Specify

18 Software Development 35%

Financial Services - Insurance: This sector is following similar strategies to the banks. However, they are more focused on insurance services and less on banking.

Financial Services - Brokerages: A single participant was interviewed from this sector. The results indicate that they are heavily involved with FinTech and all their services are web-based.

Information Technology - IT Services: Participants from this group indicated that their companies have been providing Software Development, Software Solution, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain services to their clients. Table 7 provides the percentage of their clients in the finance industry.


Table 7: Percentage of clients in the finance industry as reported by IT Services participants.

Toronto’s FinTech Talent Challenge, May 201720 Investigating the Global FinTech Talent Shortage

The vision for expansion of FinTech within the organization

Interview Results: Industry Leaders

All participants expected to see more FinTech and its development within their organizations. The results of the data analysis have been presented in the following four categories based on the core services of the participants’ organizations.

Financial Services - Banks: Banks are trying to become technology companies that provide banking services. Their common strategies are to assess and consider new FinTech solutions, a majority of which are developed by start-ups or other tech companies. Banks, in order to stay competitive, need to focus on improving customer experiences by adapting new technology that stays current with the trend towards mobile apps.

Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning were among the top current and future FinTech development projects as mentioned by participants. One participant stated that:

"We are looking for digital adoption for 30%-60% within the next two years. We want to get our customer database to be digital first in as many ways as possible. We are on a mission to reimagine the whole experience with that lens. We want it to be more seamless."

Financial Services-Insurance: Similar to the banks, their vision is to become a technology company that provides insurance and finance services. A participant said:

“Historically it has been more of a technology as a necessity or commodity, but now we are starting to shift into the view of commodity as a differentiator.”

Financial Services - Brokerages: The vision is to keep investing into FinTech and expand significantly in the market.

Information Technology - IT Services: All participants from this sector have indicated that the FinTech sector is growing and the demand for FinTech solutions will be higher. They all stated that their companies are expanding, and are expected to continue to grow. Participants with Blockchain background and expertise indicated that there would be a high demand for adaption of this technology in the near future.



Forecasted hiring needs for FinTech roles in the organizations

In general, all participants found it difficult to forecast the long-term hiring need for FinTech due to the constant changes and evolutions of technology. Regarding the current and near future hiring demands, all participants indicated that their organizations are in need of hiring FinTech talent. Most of the participants were not comfortable quantifying their hiring needs; however, they indicated that there is a current demand for FinTech talent and there is an upward trend for this need in the near future. Some participants estimated a 15-25% increase in next year’s demand.

Financial Services - Banks: All participants within the banks indicated that there has been a growth in hiring FinTech talent and that there would be more demand for these talents in the near future. Campus recruitment seems to be one of the major sources of hiring for this sector, and the banks prefer to select their new graduates through co-op and internship programs. However, due to the increase in demand for FinTech talent, some participants stated that they are reviewing their current campus recruitment strategies to enhance their interactions and partnerships with universities. For example, one of the participants from a major bank in Toronto stated that:

“As a campus recruitment perspective as a whole, last year we brought in 12000 interns in all spaces of the bank. We expect this to grow to 15000. The major of these increases are in the FinTech space. For technology we bring in 50-60 associates full time, and for our internships we bring in 120 for the summer and 60-70 for fall and 60-70 for winter.”

Financial Services-Insurance: Participants from this sector, without quantifying their hiring needs, indicated that there is a significant need for hiring in the engineering space. It was also mentioned that they haven’t targeted new graduates as much as they will in the near future.

Financial Services - Brokerages: One participant from this sector indicated that due to the nature of their work, their priority is to hire for senior level positions; however, they would consider hiring new graduates if they could meet the hiring needs for senior positions that would allow them to maintain the senior to junior mentorship/supervision ratio.

The participant indicated that they are planning to hire for 45 to 50 positions in the next year, and 20% of these positions could target new graduates.

Information Technology - IT Services: The participants from this sector only indicated their hiring plan for the near future. The results show that they are looking for experienced talent rather than new graduates; however, some of them mentioned that they would consider Master’s and PhD graduates or new graduates with a very specific skill sets in their field.

The participants from 3 of the 6 IT companies interviewed for this study indicated that they expect a minimum of 43% to increase to a maximum of 200% in their employee numbers within the next year, filling about 400 new positions.



Preferred university programs and university graduates for FinTech positions


Preferred University Programs

Participants were asked what programs of study they tend to hire from for FinTech-related roles. They were also asked to comment on the suitability of Computer Science, Business Technology Management, Mathematics, Finance and Financial Mathematics programs for the roles. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) include Computer Science programs, however, the majority of participants (79%) specified Computer Science programs as the preferred program, followed by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Data Analytics programs (42% and 38% respectively).

Some participants from the banking sector stated that they would consider hiring from a variety of programs including the Finance program; however, this program was rated as the least attractive or not suitable for FinTech roles by most participants.

Table 8 illustrates the preferred university programs stated by the industry participants.

University Programs Desired by Industry Number of Par�cipants

% of Par�cipants

Computer Science 19 79% Engineering/Technical/STEM programs 10 42% Data Analy�cs 9 38% Computer Engineering 8 33% Maths 6 25% Informa�on/Business Technology Management 5 21% Ar�ficial Intelligence 4 17% Machine Learning 4 17% Data Science 3 13% Financial Mathema�cs 2 8% Programs related to DevOps 2 8% Opera�on Research 1 4% Quan�ta�ve Science 1 4% Business Analyst 1 4% So�ware Engineering 1 4% Big Data 1 4% MBA 1 4%

22

Table 8: Preferred university programs by industry participants.



Preferred Universities to Hire Recent Graduates

Participants were asked what universities they tend to approach and hire from. The results indicated that University of Waterloo is generally the most desirable university to hire from (63%), followed by University of Toronto (50%) and Ryerson University (38%). Almost half (46%) of the participants stated that their organization would consider graduates from any university or college.

University of Waterloo was recognized as one of the most reputable universities for Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs by majority of the participants; however, attracting its graduates for FinTech roles within the banks was stated as one of the major challenges for the finance sector. A summary of the responses for this section is illustrated in Table 9.

Preferred/Hired University graduates

Number of Par�cipants

% of Par�cipants

Waterloo 15 63% UofT 12 50% All Universi�es/Colleges 11 46% Ryerson 9 38% Western 7 29% UBC 4 17% Queen 4 17% OCAD 3 13% SFU 3 13% McMaster 2 8% Laurier 2 8% York 2 8% Not men�oned 1 4% UQAC 1 4% French Universi�es 1 4% Dalhousie 1 4% DeGroote 1 4% Guelph 1 4% Russian Universi�es 1 4%

23

Table 9: Industry leaders’ preferred universities to hire from.



The main roles and skills associated with FinTech positions


Data analysis shows that industry participants specified 40 FinTech roles and 74 skills related to these roles. The study also identified five FinTech roles and 13 skills that were specified by industry participants from both financial institutions and Information Technology companies. The results are presented in tables 10 and 11.

The top two roles identified by industry participants (Table10) are Developer and Project Manager positions (indicated by 38% and 33% of industry participants respectively), followed by UX Designer, Data Scientist and Business Analyst roles together in the third place (indicated by 25% of industry participants).

DevOps (development and operations) skills was the most specified skill (Table 11) related to the FinTech roles (identified by 33% of industry participants), followed by Machine Learning, Hadoop, collaboration (soft skills) and data analysis skills together in second place (indicated by 21% of industry participants).

The study also identified five FinTech roles and 13 skills that were specified by industry participants from both financial institutions and Information Technology companies. The results are presented in Tables 12 and 13 respectively.



ID Fintech Roles

No. of participants Total No. of participants

% of participants

Financial Institutions

IT Companies

1 Developer 9 9 38% 2 Project Manager 8 8 33% 3 UX Designer 6 6 25% 4 Data Scientist 5 1 6 25% 5 Business Analyst 5 1 6 25% 6 Software Developer 4 1 5 21%

7 UI Designer 4 4 17% 8 Software Engineer 3 1 4 17% 9 Data Analyst 3 1 4 17%

10 iOS developer 3 3 13% 11 Tester 3 3 13% 12 Solution Architect 3 3 13% 13 Analyst 3 3 13% 14 Scrum Master 2 2 8% 15 System Analyst 2 2 8% 16 DevOp Engineer 2 2 8% 17 QA/QC Tester 2 2 8% 18 IT Operations 2 2 8% 19 Agile Engineer 2 2 8% 20 Digital Marketing 1 1 4% 21 Application Developer 1 1 4% 22 Blockchain Specialist 1 1 4% 23 Big Data Analyst 1 1 4% 24 Security Specialist 1 1 4% 25 Mobile Developer 1 1 4% 26 Java Developer 1 1 4% 27 Technical Architect 1 1 4% 28 UX Developer 1 1 4% 29 Product Manager 1 1 4% 30 Enterprise Architect 1 1 4% 31 QA/QC 1 1 4% 32 Full Stack Developer 1 1 4% 33 B2B Marketing 1 1 4%

34 Business Technology Analyst 1 1 4%

35 Product Marketing 1 1 4% 36 Consultant 1 1 4% 37 Back End Engineer 1 1 4% 38 Big Data Architect 1 1 4% 39 Business System Analyst 1 1 4% 40 Junior Consultant 1 1 4%

ID Skills related to Fintech Roles No. of par�cipants

Total No. of par�cipants

% of par�cipants Financial

Ins�tu�ons IT

Companies 1 DevOps 8 8 33% 2 Data Analysis 5 5 21% 3 Collabora�on 5 5 21% 4 Hadoop 4 1 5 21% 5 Machine Learning 3 2 5 21% 6 Innova�on 4 4 17% 7 Team work 4 4 17% 8 Problem Solving 3 1 4 17% 9 Project Management 3 1 4 17%

10 Analy�cal 1 3 4 17% 11 Blockchain 1 3 4 17% 12 Back End Programming 3 3 13% 13 So�ware Tes�ng 3 3 13% 14 Predic�ve Modelling 3 3 13% 15 Algorithms 3 3 13% 16 Cloud 3 3 13% 17 Automa�on Engineering 3 3 13% 18 Visualiza�on 3 3 13% 19 Front End Programming 3 3 13% 20 Python 1 2 3 13% 21 Java 1 2 3 13% 22 Mobile App development 2 2 8% 23 Agile 2 2 8% 24 Ar�ficial Intelligence 1 1 2 8% 25 Excel 1 1 2 8% 26 Open Source Environment 1 1 2 8% 27 C++ 1 1 2 8% 28 Angular 1 1 2 8% 29 Wallet Address 1 1 4% 30 Progressive Apps 1 1 4% 31 Crea�vity 1 1 4% 32 Cryptocurrency 1 1 4% 33 Reac�ve 1 1 4%




Ins�tu�ons IT

Companies

60 Encryp�on and Security Methods 1 1 4%

61 Management 1 1 4% 62 Hacking 1 1 4% 63 Research 1 1 4% 64 Understanding the codes 1 1 4% 65 App Development 1 1 4% 66 Virtual Machines 1 1 4% 67 Building Compilers 1 1 4% 68 Programming 1 1 4% 69 Coding 1 1 4% 70 Web Development 1 1 4% 71 Spark 1 1 4% 72 Leadership 1 1 4% 73 System Level Engineering 1 1 4% 74 Judgement 1 1 4%




Ins�tu�ons IT

Companies

34 Cyber Security 1 1 4% 35 Networking 1 1 4% 36 Data Science 1 1 4% 37 Peer to Peer loans 1 1 4% 38 Deep Technical Skills 1 1 4% 39 Robo�c 1 1 4% 40 Web Technologies 1 1 4% 41 Agile Methodologies 1 1 4% 42 Node JS 1 1 4% 43 Back End Languages 1 1 4% 44 Influencing 1 1 4% 45 Instant Apps 1 1 4% 46 React JS 1 1 4% 47 Risk Management 1 1 4% 48 Working with Regula�on 1 1 4% 49 Angular JS 1 1 4% 50 Web Data Analy�cs 1 1 4% 51 Modern Web Frameworks 1 1 4% 52 Natural Agility 1 1 4% 53 Objective C Languages 1 1 4% 54 Consul�ng 1 1 4%

55 Understanding the Banking System 1 1 4%

56 Development 1 1 4% 57 React 1 1 4%

58 Understanding the Role of Scrum Master 1 1 4%

59 Big Data Analy�cs 1 1 4%

Fintech Roles No. of par�cipants



Ins�tu�ons IT

Companies Data Scien�st 5 1 6 25% Business Analyst 5 1 6 25% So�ware Developer 4 1 5 21% So�ware Engineer 3 1 4 17% Data Analyst 3 1 4 17%

Skills related to Fintech Roles

No. of par�cipants Total No. of par�cipants


Ins�tu�ons IT

Companies Hadoop 4 1 5 21% Machine Learning 3 2 5 21% Problem Solving 3 1 4 17% Project Management 3 1 4 17% Analy�cal 1 3 4 17% Blockchain 1 3 4 17% Python 1 2 3 13% Java 1 2 3 13% Ar�ficial Intelligence 1 1 2 8% Excel 1 1 2 8% Open Source Environment 1 1 2 8% C++ 1 1 2 8% Angular 1 1 2 8%

25

Table 10: Roles associated with FinTech jobs.

Table 12: Roles commonly identified by both Financial Institutions and IT companies.

Table 11: Skills specified for FinTech roles by industry participants.

Table 13: Skills commonly identified by both Financial Institutions and IT companies.



Current challenges for hiring FinTech positions

What certificates/trainings could adult learners/career changers obtain to be considered for a FinTech position in the organization?


The industry participants were asked to identify their current challenges for hiring FinTech positions. Their responses were summarized and presented in Table 14. Talent availability for FinTech, and competing with the big names in the technology sector (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) are the most identified hiring challenges for FinTech positions.

In general, most industry participants indicated that FinTech roles are more suitable for IT professionals, people with programming and coding capabilities, people with analytical skills and new graduates from relevant university programs. Adult learners without IT or computer science backgrounds might find it difficult to start a career in FinTech; however, there might be some opportunities for the career changers with some IT and business management experiences to start working as a business analyst, project manager or in sales and marketing capacities in FinTech. Table 15 below summarizes these insights gathered from participants.

About 33% of participants (mainly from financial institutions) were not prepared to suggest any specific training or certificate other than universities programs. Project Management with a PMP certificate and Blockchain training (which includes Certified Bitcoin Professional and Expert Certificates) were noted as the most identified training/certificate in the study.



Table 14: Current hiring challenges for FinTech positions specified by the industry participants.

Table 15: Summary of responses for certificates/trainings that adult learners and career changers can obtain to be considered for a FinTech position in the organization.

ID Current challenges for hiring Fintech positions


% of participants Financial

Institutions IT

Companies

1 Competing with the big names in the technology sector (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) 11 11 46%

2 Talent availability 8 3 11 46%

3 Financial services’ brand image for attracting Fintech talents 8 8 33%

4 Competing with agile and nimble tech companies like start-ups 3 1 4 17%

5 High salary expectations 3 1 4 17%

6 Gender diversity in technology is a real challenge and more women needs to be encouraged into careers in technology

3 3 13%

7 Lack of collaboration between universities and Fintech employers 3 3 13%

8 Lack of experiential learning/ co-op or internship experience 1 2 3 13%

9 Fintech movement seems to be new and the industry is still settling into this. 2 2 8%

10 Competing with the US companies 1 1 4% 11 Finding adaptable technology learners 1 1 4%

12 Uncertainty about whether new graduates will like the job or change it at a later stage 1 1 4%

13 Hard to find talents with required experience 1 1 4%

ID Training/Certificate No. of participants

Total No. of participants


Institutions IT

Companies

1 No specific training/certificate was mentioned 8 8 33%

2 Project Management with PMP Certificate 3 1 4 17% 3 Blockchain training 1 3 4 17%

4

Training courses offered by companies like Bitmaker (Web Development, Intro to Digital Marketing, Front-End Web Development, UX & Product Design, User Experience Design)

3 3 13%

5 Business Analyst 2 2 8%

6 The latest technology and applications used by the banks 2 2 8%

7 Consultancy 2 2 8% 8 Certified Bitcoin Expert Certificate 1 1 4% 9 Certified Bitcoin Professional Certificate 1 1 4%

10 Data Analysis 1 1 4%

11 Essential bank domain knowledge for IT professionals 1 1 4%

12 Fintech ecosystem training 1 1 4% 13 Hortonworks certificates 1 1 4% 14 MBA with Fintech topics 1 1 4% 15 Red Hat certificates related to Fintech 1 1 4% 16 Sales and business development 1 1 4%



Suggestions and recommendations for postsecondary institutions


Industry participants provided multiple recommendations for postsecondary educational institutions when asked to consider the rapid expansion of FinTech and make recommendations/suggestions for any possible additions/modifications to the current university programs. These recommendations are grouped into the 17 categories presented in Table 16.

The top three recommendations (recommended by 67%, 46%, and 38% of the industry participants respectively) were to:

1. Improve students’ experiential learning (including co-op and internship programs),

2. Continue to improve and update the curricula based on the latest technology used by the industry, and

3. Promote FinTech job opportunities on campus.

ID Suggestion/Recommendation for Post-Secondary Institutions



Institutions IT

Companies 1 Improve students' experiential learnings 13 3 16 67%

2 Keep improving and updating the curriculums based on the latest technology used by the industry

7 4 11 46%

3 Promote Fintech job opportunities 8 1 9 38%

4 Promote/develop programs that could support Fintech 5 2 7 29%

5 Facilitate professional networking opportunities 2 3 5 21%

6 Hackathons 3 2 5 21%

7 Augment technology talent with the banking domain knowledge 5 5 21%

8 Improve collaborations and partnerships between University and Industries 4 1 5 21%

9 Encourage more women into careers and programs in technology 4 4 17%

10 Promote Data Analytics program 3 3 13%

11 Bench mark with leading universities like MIT 1 1 2 8%

12 Invite guest speaker from industry leaders 1 1 4%

13 Project Management 1 1 4%

14 Focus on enterprise architecture as well as application infrastructure (for Computer Science program)

1 1 4%

15 Make a new program for project management within technology. 1 1 4%

16 Problem Solving 1 1 4%

17 Introduce a course for Bitcoin and Blockchain 1 1 4%

28

Table 16: Recommendations for postsecondary education institutions from Industry Leaders.



When the participants were asked to rate their satisfaction level for new hires among recent graduates from 1 to 5, the average satisfaction level was 4.05, indicating reasonably favourable results.

Most participants were highly satisfied (rated 5/5) or satisfied (rated 4/5) with their new graduate hires; however, a single participant was entirely dissatisfied due to the lack of knowledge within the field of Blockchain technology among university graduates.

Satisfaction Rate Reason for the rating Frequency Average

1 Lack of Blockchain knowledge 1 1

3

Lack of banking domain knowledge 1 3

Soft skills issues 1 3

There is a lot left to be desired 1 3

3.5 Lack of banking domain knowledge 1 3.5

Lack of risk management knowledge 1 3.5

4

Good performance 1 4

The majority are outstanding, some need coaching and development 1 4

There is a gap between what is needed and what is nice to have 2 4

They had the opportunity to gain experience before joining us 1 4

5

Amazing performance 4 5

Brought new experiences and ideas 1 5

Excellent performance 1 5

Really good at doing the given tasks on their own 1 5

Selected through co-op and internships. 1 5

N/A N/A 2 N/A

Not hired yet 3 N/A

Grand Total 24 4.05

Satisfaction level with the recently hired graduates for FinTech positions

Table 17: Reported satisfaction levels of Industry Leaders participants.



WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

The results of both interviews with industry leaders and recent graduates suggest that there is a significant need for FinTech talent in the GTA and this demand seems to increase in the near future.

• Tech talents prefer to work for big tech companies (like google, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) or for small agile tech companies (like start-ups)

• Tech talents are not interested in working for financial institutions

• Talent availability are a major challenge for FinTech employers

• Tech talents have higher salary expectation

• There is lack of experiential learning among recent tech graduates

• Tech talents/graduates don’t usually have banking domain knowledge

• Tech talents are not aware of tech/FinTech roles in finance sector

• Improve students' experiential learnings (co-op, Internship, job shadowing programs)

• Keep improving and updating the curriculums based on the latest technology used by the industry

• Promote FinTech job opportunities• Have industry align to invest in an awareness raising campaign

(both virtual and on-campus) on the benefits of a career in the FinTech sector, to run across postsecondary institutions

• Promote/develop programs that could support FinTech• Have industry partner with PSE to strengthen students’

understanding of the high value place on transferable skills by the labour market

• Facilitate professional networking opportunities for students• Organize Hackathons• Augment technology talent with the banking domain knowledge• Improve collaborations and partnerships between University and

Industries• Encourage more women into careers and programs in technology• Bench mark with other universities that promote FinTech topics

like MIT• Invite guest speaker from industry leaders

1. Pollari, I. (2016). The rise of fintech: opportunities and challenges. The Finsia Journal of Applied Finance, (3).2. PwC. (2016). Creating a platform for competitive regeneration - PwC 19th annual global CEO survey - key findings in

the banking and capital markets sector. Retrieved from the PwC website: https://www.pwc.com.au/publications/pdf/creating-a-platform-for-competitive-regeneration.pdf

REFERENCES

How do we define the FinTech talent need/gap?

Opportunities for postsecondary institutions to respond to the FinTech talent needs

Publication designed in collaboration with theCentre for Communicating Knowledge.

Photos courtesy of community members at:www.Pexels.com

www.Unsplash.com

Ryerson University350 Victoria StreetToronto, ON M5B 2K3www.ryerson.ca

toronto's fintech talent challenge - ryerson university · 2020-05-14 · toronto's...

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