A chronic shortage of key skills in the financial services sector – including mortgage broking – threatens to undermine the UK’s ability to capitalise on the £26 billion growth opportunity offered by artificial intelligence, according to a new report published today by the Financial Services Skills Commission.
The report, Unlocking AI’s Potential: The Skills That Matter, warns that despite rapid advances in AI deployment across the financial industry, the sector is critically underprepared when it comes to workforce readiness.
STRATEGIC RISK
With AI set to touch almost every role – from mortgage brokers to directors – a 35 percentage point gap between demand for AI-related capabilities and available talent now poses a major strategic risk.
Although the number of vacancies requiring conversational AI skills has surged 17-fold since 2021, the research – conducted in partnership with EY and workforce analytics firm Simply Get Results – shows that employers are placing even greater value on traditionally human traits such as empathy, adaptability, and relationship management.
Claire Tunley, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Skills Commission, said: “AI promises enormous productivity and customer service gains – but none of it is achievable unless firms address the skills challenge head-on.
“Our research makes it clear: the future belongs not just to coders and data scientists, but to employees who can pair emerging technologies with deep human insight.”
PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING
Despite concerns that automation could displace jobs, the report finds that only 1.5% of roles will require ‘expert’ AI knowledge.
Instead, the vast majority of employees will need a practical understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations – particularly those in decision-making, client-facing, or managerial positions.
Among the roles expected to be most impacted are account managers, project managers, and financial analysts – with human resources teams, particularly administrators, also flagged as likely to be reshaped by large language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini.
Nathan Sasto, Partner in Financial Services People Consulting at EY, added: “Technical expertise still matters, but it’s the human-centred capabilities – empathy, critical thinking, and communication – that will unlock the real value of AI in financial services.
“Firms that miss this point will fail to implement AI effectively, or worse, erode customer trust.”
SMARTEST OPERATIONS
And John Guy, CEO of Simply Get Results, said: “AI is already transforming the way financial services operate.
“But the data shows clearly: human intelligence is the multiplier.
“The smartest organisations will act now to identify their critical skill gaps and develop targeted reskilling strategies – or risk being left behind.”
