Help for FinTech SMEs to attract more women and address the skills gap
The FinTech sector in Scotland and across the world is growing rapidly as is the demand for new staff to fuel this growth. In the wider digital technologies sector in Scotland, 12,800 vacancies arise every year and many businesses struggle to fill these roles.
Despite this evident skills gap, the proportion of women in digitally focused roles is only 18% as opposed to 48% in the workforce as a whole and 39% in other skilled occupations. There is an enormous opportunity to meet many of the industry’s skills needs by closing the technology gender gap.
The need for diversity
In addition to addressing the growing skills gap, there are robust business, legal and moral cases for improving gender diversity in companies. We know that where there are greater levels of diversity, companies experience greater returns on investment, equity and sales. Women’s equal participation in STEM is estimated to be worth £170 million to the Scottish economy annually.
Over the last few years, an increasing number of companies have started taking action and working in partnership with education institutions and the skills agencies to attract and retain more women to the digital technologies sector. This is reflected in the results of the recent Scottish Technology Industry Survey 2018, conducted by ScotlandIS, which showed that more than 68% of respondents have already taken action to address the technology gender gap.
A new workplace
The most commonly taken step to attract more women is to offer flexible working patterns that are compatible with child care commitments. 55% have tried this measure and found that it helps and only 6% of respondents are unlikely to try it.
Around a quarter of responding companies provide female role models for engagement with schools and universities and/or support initiatives like Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) or Girl Geeks.
The least used measure is the provision of return-to-work training for women after a career break (15%) even though 71% of respondents would consider this step.
A question of size?
However, the figures also reveal that large businesses (more than 500 employees) were more likely than small and medium companies to have successfully implemented any of the measures mentioned above.
SMEs often report that they struggle to develop more inclusive workplaces policies and practices due to a lack of time, resources, access to expertise and awareness of effective practices.
The engendering STEM project
The ENGENDERING STEM project has been set up to help SMEs in FinTech and other sectors that recruit for technical/STEM roles to overcome these barriers. City of Glasgow College, Equate Scotland and partners from the Netherlands and the Basque Country in Spain are working together to develop an evidence based self-assessment toolkit, best practice guides and blended learning training solutions. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
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Get Advice and Support – We will work with you to provide tailored recommendations and support to improve the gender balance in your business ”“ all you have to do is complete our free online self-assessment tool.
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Give Your Views – What are your views on getting more women into Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM)? Fill in our anonymous survey here
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Share Best Practice – Do you have a success story to share? ENGENDERING STEM can promote this to a European audience in our series of best practice guides. Share your case study with us here
New Fintech Fellowship to Address Skills Gap
The idea behind this fellowship is to raise the awareness of the fintech talent gap and seek involvement from organisations and individuals. Last year, 42 UK universities took part.
“Seeing positive collaboration between groups of talented entrepreneurs and established financial institutions really inspired me to apply”, said Mohammed Hassan, last year’s winner.
The fintech talent situation in Scotland
The fintech sector isn’t completely centralised in London with Scotland contributing massively to the growth of this sector in the UK.
Universities have been quick at identifying fintech as an area of focus and the University of Strathclyde recently launched the first UK MSc in fintech, rapidly followed by Stirling University. It is highly important when projections show a potential for the creation of over 15,000 new roles overt the next 10 years.
A majority of the companies who took part in the HM Treasury UK FinTech Census 2017 identified skilled talent attraction as one of their top challenges.
The judging panel
Further members of the judging panel include:
Marilena Ioannidou, Director & Team Lead on Fintech Investments, British Business Investment
Elizabeth Lumley, global fintech commentator and advisor
Tanya Andreasyan, Managing Director and Editor, FintechFutures/Banking Technology
Niels Turfboer, Managing Director, Spotcap
Finding your Finance Seat at the Fintech Table
Fintech is a rapidly growing area that has captured imaginations in recent years; from entrepreneurs and CEOs to office workers catching up over a coffee. However, the integral role of the accounting professional within a fintech has perhaps slipped beneath the radar for many. It is worth lifting the lid on this innovative industry and looking at the highs and lows of working in finance for a fintech SME.
Taking stock of the fintech landscape
Financial technology is at the heart of a fintech business and as technology evolves it has the potential to change the way we carry out transactions and work. The industry, in line with the rate which new technology is advancing, is fast paced and always looking for new ways to challenge convention. The big trends in fintech to be aware of this year include diversifying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the increasing use of blockchain, improving the reach of contactless payment technology, greater competition between SMEs and large firms and increasing regulation.
Where do I fit in as a finance professional?
Most fintech organisations are progressive SMEs, where the function of the finance team evolves as the organisation grows. At an early growth stage, the finance team will often be outsourced. As the SME grows in terms of transaction volume and product and service offering, in the interests of cost and efficiency, the finance function tends to be brought in-house.
According to Andrew Robinson, iMultiply Senior Consultant this is a key time to join the business:
“Once a fintech, as with any SME, hits a critical point in the growth curve they will be looking to bring an agile finance team on board. The ability to roll up your sleeves and embrace variety and challenge are crucial. One minute you might be transaction focussed and the next you might be producing the management accounts and working with the CEO on finance strategy and company projections.”
What skills do I need to work for a fintech?
A recent PwC report revealed that 61% of CEOs believe that innovation is a priority, while 75% of executives are concerned with not having enough ideas. Bearing in mind this emphasis on innovation, you need to bring the right mind-set to this exciting sector. Although SMEs look for a variety of skills, we have set out the top three attributes which are a priority for fintech and SME employers:
Analytical Mind: You need to be able to solve problems, but also demonstrate logical thinking, strong numeracy skills and the ability to analyse data and information. If you can demonstrate strong analytical ability, you will be in high demand.
Dynamism and Adaptability: A lot of the firms working in this sector operate very much within a growth environment and will be looking for accounting professionals who have the ability to work across departments and position functions. Being able to bring new ways of working and showing an entrepreneurial spirit is key for being successful.
“You will need to be the right cultural fit. Working for an SME or fintech is like riding a rollercoaster ”“ you need to embrace change and enjoy the peaks and troughs. Adapting to evolving business needs and bringing a powerful blend of technical expertise, commercial nous and the ability to connect to different functions will enable you to rise quickly in the business”, confirms Kirsty Mackenzie, iMultiply CEO.
Resilience: This sector is unpredictable and things may not always go to plan, so developing resilience skills and the ability to bounce-back is highly prized.
The future of fintech is right there in the name. The industry has a heavy focus on finance and technology, and the remit of finance and technology is constantly changing. The only thing that we can know with any certainty is that the fintech market is set for further disruption and that the rewards for those who get the mixture of innovation and practicality just right will be enormous.
One thing’s for sure – it’s an exciting time to be a part of the industry, and it’ll be interesting to see how it continues to develop. As an accounting professional, if you spot the right opportunity with one of these SMEs, perhaps you’ll be the one to usher in the change.
University and fintech collaboration to improve financial well-being
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Consumers display sustainable spending patterns and have manageable debt levels
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Consumers have enough savings to face unexpected events
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Consumers have adequate savings to fund their retirement
University of Stirling Launches new Fintech Masters Course
The Glasgow University FinTech Society – the story so far
What is Glasgow University FinTech Society?
The society was created in summer 2017. It’s goal is to increase knowledge and raise the profile of fintech among university students.
They have adopted a fresh approach to fintech, opening membership to students of any degree as long as they are interested in technology innovations. This is important as successful start-ups and SMEs will need more than tech and financial skills. As with all businesses, marketing, data, user experience, human sciences and much more will be necessary to develop sustainable and fruitful businesses.
A fast-growing society
The group has developed very quickly, acquiring 70 members in 3 months. They are a mix of first-year to PhD students. Through this group they will get opportunities to develop their knowledgge about everything fintech thanks to the organisation of events on various topics such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies,
P2P lending, and much more.
Jan Jindra, President of the society told us:
“What makes our society unique is that our society members form teams in advance to the event to
research the specific FinTech-related topic on their own first, write a group report and eventually
deliver the presentation at the event to other students. This supports the idea of “learning by doing”
and it becomes a very useful experience for everyone involved”.
3 events have been held so far:
-What does fintech mean?
-Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies (Students were able to create their
own crypto tokens and learn from speaker Dug
Campbell, Blockchain consultant and writer.)
-Peer-to- Peer lending and Stock Trading Apps.
More vents are being planned especially around the topics of AI and Ethics which is a growing topic within the tech community.
They’ll also cover regulations in FinTech.
One of the most exciting initiative is their Applied FinTech Project. Members will work with existing FS brands on FinTech matters.
They are looking to contact businesses interested in partnering with the society to look at challenges and opportunities. If it wasn’t interesting enough, they decided to provide this at no cost at all.
3 Scottish universities collaborate on fintech
In a first for Scotland and the United Kingdom, Tatja Karkkainen, is to undertake a PhD in Fintech. Her research is lead supervised by Glasgow University’s Adam Smith Business School and co-mentored by Strathclyde and Stirling Universities.
Ms Karkkainen will research distributed ledger technologies as well as smart contract solutions for the efficiency of financial markets. This will source from the fields of pure finance as well as IT. She regards the university cluster an ideal base for Fintech research for its accessible skills and resources.
The three universities provide a formidable fintech combination, providing a multi disciplinary environment for Ms Karkkainen’s Research. Glasgow University was named Scottish University of the Year in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. The Department of Accounting and Finance at Strathclyde Business School was ranked first in Accounting and Finance in the United Kingdom and Stirling University Computing Department is part of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance.