Financial services firms in the UK and India are facing a skills crisis, according to a report from KPMG.
The report, Global Skills for Graduates in Financial Services, found that a ‘soft skills gap’ is increasingly apparent because of the development of graduates with excellent technical knowledge, but who lack soft business skills.
It found that 62% of organisations in the UK and 58% in India reported difficulty in finding graduates with the correct skills including teamwork, communications, client relationship management, customer services, business awareness, problem solving and achievement orientation skills.
Ian Gomes, chairman of KPMG’s new and emerging markets practice, said: “Our report shows that graduates are leaving education with inspiring theoretical knowledge, but lack practical job-related skills. There is a ‘soft skills gap’ developing. The findings of our report will be used to inform joint curriculum projects in both UK and India to help address this.”
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The report was launched at a Lord Mayor of the City of London event in Mumbai and includes research conducted among 32 major financial institutions in the UK and India as part of the firm’s contribution towards their partnership with the UK-India Education and Research Initiative.
