A recent study by the Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) has revealed startling trends in talent and skills gaps in Malaysia’s financial services industry, showing that the industry is not only impeded by shortage of talent, but also by a lack of competent and skilled workforce.
This AIF study, which represents the most comprehensive study on talent and skills gaps in the Malaysian financial services industry, surveyed 600 employers in banking, Islamic finance, insurance/takaful and the capital markets. The survey showed that more than half of employers struggle to find skilled talent to fill various positions and expect to continue facing this challenge over the next three years as experienced by the industry the world over.
Dr. Raymond Madden, Chief Executive Officer of AIF shared the above findings with Dr. Haji Zul, ICIFE Project Director when the latter visited AIF Head Office at Plaza Sentral, KL Sentral recently.
Dr. Madden said, “Almost 8 in 10 financial institutions in Malaysia lamented that they are held back by a lack of talent. As a fast service-oriented industry that is experiencing dramatic change, the problem of an acute talent shortage is immediate. The delay and failure to effectively manage talent adversely affects bottom-line growth, productivity and expansion into new markets.”
In reciprocal, Dr. Haji Zul shared the preliminary findings of ICIFE’s Malaysian Islamic Finance Education Report (MIFER) 2015 that probably could provide some answers on what academe say can be done to close the talent gap which remains at the forefront of concerns for universities.
