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Background Context

The Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan has been developed with the sector

in Norfolk and Suffolk, working alongside the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, the

New Anglia Skills Board and supported by SkillsReach.

SkillsReach was contracted to facilitate and prepare eight sector skills plans for the New

Anglia LEP priority sectors. The project was commissioned by the Education and Skills

Funding Agency, in partnership with New Anglia LEP, and funded through the European

Social Fund. Each Sector Skills plan and supporting Data Pack has been developed in

collaboration with local employers and other stakeholders.

The Sector Skills Plan has been developed in partnership with a number of local Financial

and Insurance employers.

The New Anglia Skills Board places employers at the centre of decision making on skills in

Norfolk and Suffolk to ensure the skills system becomes more responsive to the needs of

employers, residents and the future economy.

SkillsReach is an established East of England-based strategic skills consultancy with an

associate project team with extensive experience of developing skills plans.

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Executive Introduction

Welcome and introduction to the Skills Plan from the Skills Board sponsor...

Contents

Executive Summary

Overview of the Financial Services and Insurance Sector

Sector Definition

Opportunities and Challenges

Employer Feedback

Cross-Cutting Issues

Headline Skills Data Analysis

College and University Developments

The Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan

Priorities for Action

Proposed Skills Interventions

Appendix A- Skills Plan Development Process

List of Consultees

Appendix B- Evidence Report (Datapack Summary)

Skills Supply & Demand Analysis

A Future View of the Financial Services & Insurance Sector

Appendix C- Current Skills and Training Provision

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Executive Summary

Over 2.2 million people work in financial and related professional services across the UK,

representing around 7% of the working population. Around two-thirds of people in

employment in the industry work outside London. For New Anglia, in terms of Gross Value

Added (GVA), the Financial Services and Insurance sector in 2015 was worth approximately

£2.14bn, which equates to just under seven per cent of the total New Anglia economy, which

is an increase of £120m on 2010. In total the sector currently employs 29,200 people

across the New Anglia area.

New Anglia has two nationally significant financial service sector ‘clusters’ in Norwich and

Ipswich. Around three-quarters of those in financial services employment in the Norwich and

Ipswich areas, work within the insurance sector. The general insurance sub-sector accounts

for the bulk of these jobs. Norwich has been a base for financial industries for over 200

years, boasting a financially-literate, highly-skilled and stable workforce. Ipswich has a

cluster of large insurance firms, and other local and national companies- including

accountancy, financial planning and advice and banking. There are also niche markets

around marine insurance linked to the county’s ports, farm and crop insurance and thatched

property insurance in rural areas, plus a host of small financial service businesses.

A key priority raised by employers across all aspects of the sector was developing service

standards and professionalism overall. Employers felt that the sector should be positioned

as offering careers of choice, with clarity around education and workforce development

options that supported the progression towards a professional role. Furthermore, that the

traditional academic learning pathway-( including post-graduate options, alongside current

and emerging vocational training)- should be clearly explained and made accessible in order

to maximise the overall professional standing of the sector. The Banking Standards Board is

one key organisation nationally that is mobilising employers to develop responsibly and

professionally to operate at a highly competent level- championing skills as a backbone of

quality.

What A Skills Plan Is For

Skills Plans are being produced in response to the recognised key employment sectors for

Norfolk and Suffolk. The purpose of a skills plan is to ensure that businesses within these

sectors are able to benefit from an appropriately skilled, productive and readily available

workforce. We recognise how important the quality of the workforce is for business

competitiveness and for creating sustainable jobs and careers.

The skills plans capture meaningful action to make a difference. For this- Financial Services

and Insurance Sector Skills Plan, we have defined the following key elements:

Developing employer leadership across New Anglia’s two key clusters-

Norwich and Ipswich- Employers welcomed the opportunity to develop close

business networks across New Anglia’s two key concentrations of the sector.

Furthermore employers expressed the importance of working together to support

the economic and social wellbeing across the area- as a ‘social partnership’. A

cluster model was favoured by the businesses consulted, as based on the

evolving Norwich model- it is able to draw in cross-sector areas, such as links to

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the professional, legal and digital tech sectors, without losing the local focus

across both counties. Co-ordinating the business community skills voice will

provide an underpinning ‘enabling’ role across all of the key interventions

in the skills plan. Furthermore, by implementing an employer led schools’

engagement programme, enterprise engagement and enrichment will help drive

the quality of new entrants with the right level of sector-information, gain 21^st

century ‘soft skills’, can support digital tech capability, (which is increasingly

important given digital automation across key parts of the sector) and provide

young people with quality employer encounters.

ii.

Developing a Level 4 apprenticeship offer, with a focus on general

insurance services- Apprenticeship outcomes in general for the financial

services and insurance were underperforming compared to national and regional

outcomes for the same sector and other key sectors. Apprenticeship training was

typically limited locally to level 3 pathways. For general insurance in particular

evidence captured highlighted that businesses have a steady, ongoing

recruitment demand that would benefit from a Level 4 option - especially in light

of likely increased demand due to the Apprenticeship Levy.

iii.

Developing and communicating a vocational and academic qualification

and training ‘roadmap’ for the sector: from foundation to chartered- Both

vocational and academic pathways into careers within the sector hold equal

value; however employers are concerned that the stages and options are not well

known and are impacting on the flow of new entrants into the sector. Given the

expected overall demand of 14,000 new entrants- the need for clarifying the

career roles from entry through to chartered and the learning activity involved at

each stage- will help improve engagement and the overall labour market.

iv.

Securing the availability of local post-graduate accredited professional

training- Given the national recognition of the sector’s value and size- there are

no current accredited post-graduate options to support CPD for the key industries

within the sector. Employers and employees have to access postgraduate

provision in other parts of the UK. This in turn limits the progression towards

professional status and the overall value of the sector as a hub of excellence.

The skills plan expands these five areas, as key interventions- demonstrating the evidence,

defining the rationale, clarifying the action, leadership, timing and support resources- for

delivery.

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Overview of the Financial Services and Insurance Sector

Over 2.2 million people work in financial and related professional services across the UK,

representing around 7% of the working population. Around two-thirds of people in

employment in the industry work outside London. Overall, 21 towns and cities in the UK

each have more than 10,000 people in employment in the industry. Financial and related

professional services contributed £176bn to the UK economy in 2015. This represents

10.7% of total GVA.

An overview provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)¹, which is the conduct

regulator for over 56,000 financial service firms and markets in the UK, demonstrates the

scale of access the UK has across the sector’s key services of- lending, investment,

pensions, insurance and banking:

•

Wholesale Financial Markets- the UK is the leading international financial centre

and plays a key role in global wholesale financial markets, which enable public and

private commercial companies to raise finance to fund growth. The FCA segments

these services across- transaction services, lending, equity and debt primary and

secondary markets, derivatives and foreign exchange. The combined retail and

wholesale payments and transactions made in 2015 equalled $113 trillion, with £1

trillion of loans made to corporations by UK banks and the world’s largest foreign

exchange market.

•

Retail Lending- 60% of adults in the UK have a credit card, 27% have a mortgage

and 48% of small businesses access credit and overdraft facilities. Retail lending is

organised across secured lending (mortgage and consumer credit), unsecured

lending (revolving unsecured consumer credit and fixed sum) and credit and debt

services. The value of the residential mortgage market stands at £1.1 trillion and the

commercial mortgage market at £100 billion.

•

Retail Investments- key products and services cover- collective investment

schemes, unit linked profit bonds and endowments, direct holdings, structured

investment, national savings, loan and crowd-funded investment, contract for

difference/spread betting.

12.6 million UK consumers of retail investment hold 9.1

million risk based investment, with 3.9 million holding more than £100,000 in

investable assets; however only 0.6% of the population hold 32% of all total savings

and investments in the UK.

•

Retail Banking- 96% of adults in Great Britain have a current account and 54% have

a savings account. 53% of payments are made electronically and the growth in

contactless card payments was at 228% in 2015. Core retail banking services cover

personal and business current accounts, personal and business savings accounts,

overdrafts, credit and charge cards, payment services and foreign exchange.

¹ FCA- Statistics and Sources Overview (2017)

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• Pensions and Retirement- £2.1 trillion of assets are managed through the pensions

and retirement industry, with 66% of the working age population enrolled on a

workplace pension (2016). The industry is split across accumulation (growing

financial assets for the use of retirement by defined contribution and defined benefit)

and decumulation (conversion of savings into retirement income via annuity,

drawdown and equity release) elements.

• Investment Management- the UK is the second largest globally for investment

decision making, with £7 trillion of funds allocated to capital markets. The industry

focuses on providing four key services- investment strategy, governance and

administration of investment portfolios, decision making and execution.

• General Insurance and Protection- 17 million UK households have buildings

insurance, 3 million have pet insurance, 1.9 million have medical insurance and

300,000 have income protection. Furthermore 70% of UK adults have car insurance

and 76% of households have home contents insurance. The UK is the largest

insurance market in Europe, with key services covering motor and home, accident

and health, commercial and wholesale and protection (life, critical illness).

For New Anglia, in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), the sector in 2015 was worth

approximately £2.14bn, which equates to just under seven per cent of the total New Anglia

economy; this is an increase of £120m on 2010 (six per cent), with levels of GVA having

been fairly flat since 2013.²

In total the sector currently employs 29,200 people across the New Anglia area, which is just

fewer than four per cent of the workforce. Employment in the sector has grown by two per

cent since 2010 (around 600 jobs). This however masks a drop in employment of 3,200

between 2014 and 2015.

New Anglia has two nationally significant ‘clusters’ for the sector in Norwich and Ipswich.

Around three-quarters of those in financial services employment in the Norwich and Ipswich

areas, work within the insurance sector. The general insurance sub-sector accounts for the

bulk of these jobs. Norwich has been a base for the financial industries for over 200 years,

boasting a financially-literate, highly-skilled and stable workforce. Ipswich has a cluster of

large insurance firms, and other local and national companies- including accountancy,

financial planning and advice and banking. There are also niche markets around marine

insurance linked to the counties’ ports, farm and crop insurance and thatched property

insurance in rural areas, plus a host of small financial service businesses.

Norfolk and Suffolk presents an attractive proposition to financial and insurance businesses

looking to set-up grow or relocate. The sector is supported by a wide range of innovative,

niche and technology-driven SMEs who are thriving.

Norwich in particular has developed an important business network focused on the

significance of its financial and professional related services cluster- as the Financial

Industries Group (FIG). FIG is seen as a key development for the sector, with AVIVA for

example highlighting the role it can play in underpinning the skills demands generated

² The City UK: Enabling Growth Across the UK (2017)

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through AVIVA’s Finance Hub, Quantum- Data Science Centre and its ‘Horizons’- claims

handling centre.

Hosted by Broadland District Council and developed through the University of East Anglia’s

Business School, FIG is acting as a catalyst for the growth of a key business cluster that can

respond to national policy recommendations of providing the right business ‘eco-system’ to

drive competitiveness and ensure skills and innovation are effectively placed. The key

national recommendations³ for the effective development of financial service clusters, which

are being used a strategic baseline for FIG’s development, cover:

• Supporting the business community to work effectively across relevant

partnerships- and sectors within the area (or region) and across wider partnership

regional areas in response to the industrial strategy and focus on international

competitiveness;

• Supporting the diversification of the service base locally and building a

business/skills network- to respond to emerging trends through innovation and

technology, with a particular focus of harnessing a proactive relationship between

skills institutions and the business community for the development of new skills

solutions and the effective response to current and future skills demands;

• Providing a solid base for growth- empowering local business leaders to respond

to emerging national policies and maximise the investment and growth potential for

local areas.

Overall there is a real opportunity to further promote New Anglia as an ‘aspirational region’

for talented people looking to develop their careers; tempting them away from the perceived

benefits of Cambridge and London. To this end the Financial Services and Insurance sector

is already working closely with the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to attract

investment for business and provide support to SMEs working within financial niche sectors,

which have the potential to be a high growth sector.

³ The City UK Enabling Growth (2017)

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Sector Definition

For the purposes of this work we have agreed with the New Anglia LEP to follow their

existing definition of the Financial Services and Insurance sector, as detailed within their

current Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) (2017). This definition focuses on the core elements

of: -

• banking (retail and commercial, including building societies),

• investment (including activities of holding companies, venture and development

capitals),

• insurance,

• financial advice (including pensions, fund management, financial management,

financial planning),

• accounting, tax consultancy and bookkeeping.

There are two additional contextual points to clarify in the scoping of the sector overall, to

understand the data analysis focus and methodology for employer/stakeholder consultation,

these are:

• The analysis of the economic performance of the sector, including its growth and

productivity, employer base, employment size and skills and attainment- focus on the

Standard Industrial Classification framework developed based on the New Anglia

LEP definition. To this end the analysis does not directly include the legal

professions. The consultation however has captured previous research and input

from key stakeholders such as University of East Anglia on the clustering of the

sector and therefore has made recommendations demonstrating the importance of

cross-sector working- building mobility and flexibility of skills and labour supply.

• Comparator areas have been scoped based on other nationally significant

concentrations of the defined sector. Regional data presented for comparator

reasons are based on legacy RDA regional areas rather than the recent devolved

LEP regional area definitions.

In terms of sub-sector analysis- ‘Activities of insurance agents and brokers’ is by far the

largest with 9,200 workers, followed by ‘Accounting and auditing activities’ (5,200), and

‘Banks’ (3,000). Both ‘Activities of insurance agents and brokers’ and ‘Banks’ have

experienced large falls in employment between 2010 and 2015 with a combined total of over

3,000 jobs. Conversely, ‘Accounting and auditing activities’ has grown by roughly 1,500 jobs

over the same period.⁴

The Financial Services & Insurance sector is geared towards full-time employment, with 70

per cent of employment in the sector in full-time roles compared to 57 per cent across the

whole economy. There are 1,920 Financial Services and Insurance enterprises operating in

the New Anglia area, which equals just over three per cent of all enterprises (2016). Since

2010 the number of enterprises has increased by 255, or 15 per cent. This compares

favourably with the total New Anglia rate of growth of just over nine per cent.

⁴ See the Financial Services Datapack for references

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Opportunities and Challenges

Employer Feedback

Employers were consulted (please refer to the appendix for the list of consultees) on a 1-2-1

basis following a key lines of enquiry and using a semi-structured process. This has enabled

an evidence base to be developed across a core set of themes, which can then be analysed

against the statistical and broader policy analysis.

A key priority raised by employers across all aspects of the sector was developing the

standards and professionalism overall. Employers felt that the sector should be positioned

as offering careers of choice, with clarity around education and workforce development

options that supported the progression towards a professional role. Furthermore, that

traditional academic, including post-graduate options alongside current and emerging

vocational training- should be clearly explained and made accessible in order to maximise

the overall professional standing of the industries within the sector for New Anglia. The

Banking Standards Board is one key organisation nationally that is mobilising employers to

develop responsibly and professionally to operate at a highly competent level- championing

skills as a backbone of quality.

Training Investment and the Jobs Market

Advances in digital online technology has enabled the financial services and insurance

sector to give customers more direct control and ‘automated’ interaction with products and

transactions. Feedback from the larger employers in particular highlighted the shift towards

complete online interaction with its customer base- across banking, insurance and

investment activities. There was however feedback from smaller, independent, employers

within the financial advice and planning industries, which highlighted that digital

development, had ‘levelled off’ and did not fundamentally impact on their core services and

roles.

Overall employers highlighted the increasing impact that digital automation has had on

consolidating and restructuring services into accounts (often by industrial sector for

commercial banking) and area based roles, with general ‘digital literacy’ needed to provide

appropriate advice and customer management. Technical capability for larger businesses is

often retained within the employer through specialised IT contractor roles and through an

increasing need to provide digital data analysis, using cloud based solutions. For SMEs

feedback was more focused on accessing a local jobs market that provided a balance

between appropriate qualifications and the right mix of ‘softer skills’ to deliver an excellent

customer service.

Fundamentally, the impact of automation for the sector has meant that key job functions

have shifted more towards advisory, relationship management and customer service

activities, rather than compliance and data entry/technical administration. Digital AI (artificial

intelligence) for the insurance industry means that claim handling and renewals will

increasingly be issued automatically, including some initial underwriting considerations.

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Overall training investment is a necessary and fundamental aspect of providing most

aspects of advisory roles, meeting FCA regulated standards- across finance and insurance

areas. Retail banking involves more generalised and less accredited roles and training

needs- including business and financial administration. However mortgage advice and

lending is also subject to FCA regulation through Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice

(CeMAP) Level 3+ qualifications. In general the mortgage industry- followed via CPD route

ways- finds it hard to retain staff due to high competition between lenders seeking

experienced, qualified employees. Employers within the industry supported the

development of a route map explaining career options, salary and key steps to qualification-

to promote greater interest and uptake of jobs.

Employers provided feedback that the labour market pool for general insurance and

business related roles was relatively small, with employers having to go to ex-retail and

customer service candidates, which is further exacerbated by a limited apprenticeship offer.

In general, the larger SMEs felt that the key issues within the jobs market were not lack of

available candidates, or competition from London or other core areas- but concerns of lack

of ‘softer skills’ and intense competition between employers for existing, experienced, staff.

Training Delivery

In general the sector follows a tightly regulated approach towards training and CPD to

ensure FCA standard approval- for all aspects of providing financial advice. This limits the

scope and value of developing bespoke or localised training provision across New Anglia.

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), which incorporates the Personal Finance Society

(PFS), owns a qualification framework from ‘Award’ level through Certificate, Diploma and

Advanced levels, leading eventually to Chartered Status- for Insurance and Financial

Services. As an overview the framework covers:

• Insurance- foundation, Level 3 Certificate (general claims handling, HR and

business administration or Level 3 Insurance Practitioner) and Diploma (technicians,

supervisors and modules focused on progression towards advanced and chartered

status);

• Financial Services- a clearly defined FCA regulated pathway that covers Level 3 in

Life and Pensions Financial services, financial administration, long term care

insurance, through to Level 4 in Investment Options and a Diploma/Advanced

Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning.

• Accounting- Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), a key entry-level

membership awarding body for the accounting industry accredits a Level 2 to Level 4

route way that typically takes 2-4 years to complete (foundation level to diploma) or

via an AAT approved accounting or finance degree. Post-graduate Chartered status

can be achieved through five specific professional route ways including the Institute

of Chartered Accountants (ICA); the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA); and

the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA/FCCA).

• Banking - although the retail banking industry relies more on general financial and

administrative qualifications/experience, the FCA ensures there is close regulation of

mortgage advice and practice (CeMAP) and organisations such as the London

Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) play a key role in underpinning the sector

with a range professional qualifications to adhere to banking standards (with an

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increasingly important role from the Banking Standards Board too- a national

membership organisation).

Finance and Insurance employers highlighted that CPD plays an important role in enabling

individuals to progress through post-graduate equivalent training and reach chartered status.

CII also regulated this pathway, which typically involves 5 years+ experience and an

Advanced Diploma, leading to Chartered Status for- Insurance Brokerage, Insurer,

Insurance Practitioner, Insurance Risk Manager and Chartered Financial Planner. CII

regulate training accreditation and have a list of defined University Level partnerships to

support post-graduate course delivery- there are however no links to New Anglia HE

Institutes.

Access to finance is one of the major challenges for business owners, with commercial

finance brokers playing an increasingly important role in developing effective linkages

between banks/lenders and business owners. Commercial financial brokerage is able to

work independently from direct banking to consider multiple funding sources, especially

important for complex business needs- considering a range of lending options. Given the

increasing importance of commercial brokerage, the FCA in 2016 introduced more stringent

standard expectations regarding licensing and service delivery- leading to commercial

brokers registering direct with the FCA or via brokerage networks. Training planning and

delivery for commercial brokerage is however driven through the commercial training market

nationally, with an array of training consultants and independent delivery organisations

offering professional development. As with post-graduate routeways for financial advice

in general- there is no dedicated network or training pathway accessible within New

Anglia for the commercial broker market.

Apprenticeships and Workforce Development

The larger employers in the area (e.g. AVIVA, Grant Thornton, Larking Gowen, Scrutton

Bland) have dedicated apprenticeship programmes, with significant regular intake that will

increase significantly in many cases with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy -

particularly in respect of ‘older’ apprentices already within the workforce. (For example, a

large local employer described how the average age of their Apprentice cohort is profiled to

rise from 19 years to 26 years in the next couple of years).

Apprenticeships range from general insurance and business administration, through to

accountancy and financial service practitioner. City College Norwich was highlighted as a

provider for general insurance apprenticeship training up to RQF Level 3 via its Providing

Financial Services advanced apprenticeship. For larger employers apprenticeship training is

often sourced through approved national providers that are able to deliver accredited training

required as part of a tightly regulated market (for example Kaplan for AAT accredited training

up to advanced diploma level accounting).

SME employers consulted highlighted the issues of lack of RQF Level 4 and more

specialised apprenticeships following a degree equivalent pathway. It was felt that

apprenticeship take up for young people was relatively low and that SMEs found the overall

offer confusing to access, exacerbated by the apprenticeship levy (for those that are levy

paying employers). Further consultation highlighted the progress UEA are making towards

developing an industry sponsored degree apprenticeship for Finance, which they aim to

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align with their post-graduate MBA provision. Employers in Suffolk felt there was little

activity on postgraduate engagement in general for the sector.

AVIVA are actively engaged in a 50+ inclusion programme that focuses on helping to

promote economic activity for older people, including digital skills, financial advice and

employability support. AVIVA felt that lifelong learning and the offer of adult apprenticeship

options should not become a lesser priority to apprenticeship promotion and take up with

younger people.

Recruiting New Entrants and Promoting Future Supply

Several critical areas were highlighted by employers, for what is seen as the overall top

priority based on the employer feedback- engaging with young people through school’s

enterprise and careers education programmes. Critical areas highlighted included:

•

A 90% reduction in independent financial advisers (since 1980) and the risk that

accessing financial advice was seen as an exclusive service rather than an equitable

offer that enables planning to achieve and maintain financial independence and

security;

•

A general lack of understanding of the sector as a whole, with schools overly

favouring traditional academic route ways for professional career development-

through Higher Education and overlooking Post 18 ‘A’ Level progression through

technical and vocational route ways, such as Higher Apprenticeships (achieving AAT

approved chartered accounting is quicker and cheaper to achieve through a

vocational pathway than via taking a general graduate degree course in finance and

business and then following postgraduate options);

•

Lack of interest in work experience and internship opportunities despite several

employers consulted actively promoting these opportunities to schools and through

school engagement enterprise programmes;

•

Across the board concern for the mismatch between changing skills demands and

‘softer skills’ output- with digital automation impacting on the nature of business

services being far more relationship management and account management focused

for the client and less focused on compliance and administration. Employers

highlighted the importance of communication and customer service skills to support

new types of advisory roles and roles far more focused on solutions through online

and new funding models (such as crowd funding);

•

Concerns regarding the sector-relevancy of enterprise and careers provision within

schools and colleges; balanced with a general offer to engage schools and broker

new ways of promoting the sector, and the key skills needed. Employers highlighted

past and current activity including mentoring support, work experience placements,

internships, project based exercises and career talks.

Overall employers were keen to work together to improve the perception of the sector,

increase the quality of key skills and ensure that young people are able to make informed

choices about career opportunities and the learning pathway.

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Taking Forward a Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan for New Anglia

Through the consultation process a growing number of businesses have been consulted and

expressed a genuine passion for supporting the skills and employment opportunities for the

sector. Employers are keen to advocate for their industries and see engagement with young

people in education as being a fundamentally important area. They value the opportunity to

develop more formalised business to business activity, including education- through

networks. Ultimately, enabling employers to cooperatively define their skills demands and

aggregating this to give robust intelligence to the education and training community-

represents the most effective way to affect change and develop employer responsiveness

within skills delivery.

The financial services and insurance business community has a strong sense of corporate

social responsibility, often adopting a ‘Cornerstone Employer’ remit; the employers consulted

described the importance of maximising the impact they could have as local employers in

relation to community engagement. Feedback captured through the consultation highlighted

that employers across the sector’s key industries identified how important an enabler access

to financial advice, alongside digital capability, is to support economic and social wellbeing.

Employers were keen to develop social action, which could focus on a number of key areas:

• Engaging young people through schools, colleges and universities to help inform

career choices for new entrants into the sector and develop ‘21^st century skills’;

• Helping 50+ older workers develop digital literacy and maintain financial

independence;

• Working in partnership with other stakeholders to support key community

engagement programmes- such as New Anglia’s Opportunity Areas;

New Anglia is recognised as having two significant business clusters for Financial Services

and Insurance- Norwich and Ipswich. A ‘clustering effect’ generates benefits on the demand

and supply side, and results in improved flows of information and greater efficiency- across

industries. Companies benefit from customer proximity, better linkages to suppliers and

knowledge spill-over- such as the relationship between finance and professional services,

including legal advice.

The UEA is currently developing research into the Norwich cluster and through its Business

School is helping to develop the business network- the Financial Industries Group (FIG).

FIG, which is hosted by Broadland District Council and includes a business-led Board

governance structure- provides a business to business ‘trade directory’ and network and

acts as a demonstrator for Norwich’s financial offer. The UEA are able to engage with FIG

to develop its business support offer, the MBA delivered through the university and are in the

process of developing a degree apprenticeship pathway aligned to the MBA, which is

planned to include financial services.

Employers in Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area are also aware of the ‘clustering’ of

business related activities, with examples of partnership working on school enterprise

programmes in the past. Despite lobbying the previous Regional Development Agency

(RDA) and the LEP- there is however no equivalent to FIG for the Ipswich/Suffolk area or

business led partnership through the University of Suffolk.

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Cross-Cutting Issues

‘FinTech’ & New Anglia’s DigitalTech Skills Plan

Financial technology- known as ‘FinTech’ describes a business that aims to provide a

service financial service- directly to the end customer or to a business client, which makes

use of digital modern technology. In 2017 KPMG reported that around 42% of global

financial services firms have a fintech strategy⁵, in reflection to the increasing demand of

customers wanting to access their financial services online and on their mobile devices.

KPMG report:

“At the rate the industry is evolving, financial products and services - and the

technological infrastructure behind them - will look remarkably different in a decade.

Financial institutions that take the time to define their fintech strategy and align it to

their future vision and business goals will be best positioned to forge the future of

financial services.”

Key facts made available through the FCA highlights the extent to which digitisation of

products and services has played a significant role shaping the overall service offer for the

industry, impacting on functional roles and skills requirements- 53% of payments are made

electronically (2015), with a 228% increase in contactless payments⁶. In 2013 Ernst and

Young reported that globally there are approx 7 billion mobile subscriptions and that 57% of

insurers were aiming towards the development of a ‘digital business case’ to respond the

fundamental demand for online product channels.⁷

Although the employer consultation highlighted a view of ‘levelling off’ for SMEs within the

sector in terms of digital technology and automation- particularly within the financial advice

and planning industries- the extent to which fintech is seen as a key catalyst for driving

competitiveness for the sector as a whole and in turn the skills demands to support it- should

not be overlooked. Norwich as a business cluster for the sector- is already highlighting the

important relationship between the financial services industry and the creative digital

industry, which also has a significant presence. There is already an ‘industrial heritage’

between contactless payment and the initial application and testing development through

Norwich enterprises, with firms like AVIVA also championing the role that creative digital

enterprises can play in diversifying the reach of financial services across online, app and

mobile technology. AVIVA also cite UEA’s role in the sourcing of suitably qualified ‘web app’

programmers, more than any other UK HEI.

To this end there is a significant crossover skills ‘relationship’ to foster between the sector

and digital technology, with the New Anglia ‘Digital Tech’ skills plan activity led by TechEast,

aiming to better define and influence the supply of skills for the New Anglia area. This will be

an important link to the Financial Services and Insurance sector skills plan.

⁵ KPMG 18^th October 2017- FinTech Strategy- Forging the Future

⁶ UK Payments Markets 2016, Payments UK

⁷ Ernst & Young, 2013- Insurance in a Digital World

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Headline Skills Data Analysis

The Datapack in support of the Financial Services and Insurance skills plan captures a

detailed quantitative analysis of learning outcomes, skills demand forecasts and

vacancy/recruitment patterns.

In total, 1,460 learning aims related to the Financial Services & Insurance sector were

delivered to New Anglia residents in 2012/13. This formed 1.8 per cent of all known learning

aims delivered in New Anglia, compared to 2.6 per cent nationally. Since 2010/11, there has

been a 29 per cent increase in the number of Financial Services & Insurance learning aims

delivered to New Anglia residents. Nationally, learning aims for the sector increased by 33

per cent.

Apprenticeship start numbers in frameworks relevant to the sector are fairly low, and

apprenticeship participation numbers are below what we would expect the sector to

contribute based on its employment numbers. Analysis of the apprenticeship offer for New

Anglia shows that courses are run up to advanced Level 3 level and follow a relatively

general approach- across finance and administration areas. Apprenticeship standards have

been developed nationally for the sector, via the Trailblazer programme, by a range of key

employers including Lloyds Bank, Santander, Barclays, Boots, Grant Thornton and Tower

Watson. Currently standards exist across 39 areas (including 9 awaiting approval), up to

Level 7 degree apprenticeship, for areas including:

• Relationship Management (banking)

• Investment Operations

• Workplace Pensions Administration

• Paralegal and Paraplanner

• Solicitor

• Insurance practitioner and professional

• Financial Adviser

• Commercial Banking⁸

To date there was no evidence of these national standards being adopted by local skills

providers.

Using information from both the East of England Forecasting Model and the UKCES

Working Futures model, the sector is projected to decline in employment terms between

2014 and 2024 by just over three per cent (approximately 1,000 jobs). Despite this overall

projected decline in job numbers there will still be growth areas within the sector with around

4,000 new jobs at Level 4 to 6 (HE to First degree level) and above. At the same time there

will be a significant amount of existing jobs to replace as people leave the sector workforce.

Over the period 2014 - 2024, replacement demand is expected to be somewhere in the

region of 10,000 jobs. This places a net requirement for jobs requiring to be filled in the

sector at around 14,000.

New jobs creation (expansion demand) will be primarily in roles requiring degree level skills

and higher (Level 4 and above) with job losses in lower skilled roles. This trend can be seen

in changes in qualifications in the sector between 2001 and 2011. However, current

⁸ Institute for Apprenticeships (March 2018)

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vacancy data suggests that the number of HE level opportunities is small when compared

with lower level job opportunities.

College and University Developments

In terms of post-16 education there is a broad skills provision offer typically up to a Level 3

and Advanced Diploma level. The New Anglia FE colleges align financial services with a

broader curriculum offering including business administration, customer services,

management and professional administration. Apprenticeship activity, grouped at each

level, covers:

• Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship- Accounting, Business Administration, Customer

Service

• Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship- Accounting, Business Administration, Customer

Service, Management

• Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship- Business and Administration, Business and

Professional Administration, Management, Customer Service

The provision offer through FE is relatively similar across the group of colleges; including

access to AAT accredited accountancy training up to Diploma Level 4 and bookkeeping

courses. West Suffolk College offer an extended Diploma in Business and an ILM Level 7 in

Leadership and Management- under the Finance section of their course prospectus. City

College Norwich, which was directly referenced by the FIG Board and consulted, uniquely

across the FE group offer both an intermediate and advanced apprenticeship in Providing

Financial Services, which is accessed by Financial Service and Insurance employers across

the Norwich and surrounding area. City College Norwich are also working closely with

AVIVA around their frontline development demands across their significant workforce

presence in Norwich. In terms of the Providing Financial Services training feedback from

employers highlighted that the provision is in demand but is limited to the Level 3 Advanced

level. It serves as an effective pipeline for recruitment into entry level roles, particularly

within general insurance and administration; however, the limited level of qualification overall

across the FE group impacts on the take up of apprenticeships from within the area, and the

alternative offer of a vocational pathway towards a professional career within the sector.

In terms of Higher Education- both University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of

Suffolk (UoS) offer graduate and post-graduate programmes across business finance,

economics and accountancy. Similar to FE, programme content is broad and expands

across management and business administration disciplines. UEA offers a specific focus on

Accounting and Financial Management at graduate and post-graduate level and the UoS a

BA Hons. in Economics, Banking and Finance. UEA through the facilitation of its Business

School is acting as a key enabler of the development of the Financial Industries Group (FIG)

for the Norwich area. Favouring a cluster based model of business engagement and growth,

UEA with FIGs support is aligning its business focused consultancy and skills services to the

ongoing needs of the business community. In particular, it is developing its MBA programme

to align with a range of key sectors, aiming to use the MBA as a pipeline for degree

apprenticeship output by developing a number of sector course pathways, including

Financial Services, which has industry backing and supports the relevant degree standards

for each sector.

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Overall however there is no formally accredited Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII- the

professional body regulated by the FCA for insurance and financial planning services)

qualification framework provision accessible directly from New Anglia based HEIs.

Feedback from employers highlighted that this can limit the overall status and value of the

sector for the area, as the progress towards and achievement of professional status is an

important aspect for the sector to demonstrate its value, competitiveness and attraction of

talented employees.

The Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan

Priorities for Action

The data analysis and qualitative consultation has enabled an evidence base to be

developed that captures and defines a range of issues and future risks linked to the demand

and supply of skills for the Financial Services and Insurance sector in New Anglia. In

contrast, there are a number of strengths and major opportunities to position the skills plan

against, giving planned interventions real momentum moving ahead.

Overall there is a significant impact that digital, online, automation has had and will continue

to have on the nature of business within the sector- the key roles and product services, how

advice will be accessed and delivered and what functional skills will be required to in order to

respond to consumer demands. The evidence highlights a shift away from administrative

roles linked to data entry and compliance to more customer-relationship management skills,

requiring strong communication, business management and data analytical abilities. The

key priority evidenced through the employer consultation focused on the importance of

responding to these current and future changing roles and demands through ‘21^st Century’

key skills and there was a concern that formal training and academic achievement did not

carry with it the necessary employability skills businesses value. Furthermore, the response

from employers highlighted concerns regarding informing career choice, ensuring the career

pathway is accessible from a training and education perspective and that there should be a

focus on professional development right from entry/foundation level.

Qualifications and training products are tightly regulated and accredited- as a prerequisite for

any aspect of delivery financial advice, which is a guiding principle behind any ‘localised

skills solution’ to be delivered at a New Anglia level. There are however several critical skills

issues evident-

• A lack of an accredited post-graduate career development pathway accessible

through New Anglia located education institutes;

• A limited apprenticeship offer of up to Level 3 for generalised, financial skills

development, with a key gap across the general insurance industry that has a regular

(and when aggregated as a whole area)- significant level of demand at least to a

Level 4 Higher Apprentice level. In addition, a low level of engagement from SMEs in

apprenticeships and a lack of embedding the new apprenticeship standards for

Legal, Finance and Accounting;

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• Concerns about the supply of skills and entrants into the financial planning industry,

with a significant fall in the Independent Financial Adviser market- highlighting

greater, collaborative working, with education and careers development agencies to

define and explain the value of the sector and the career choices available.

The issues captured from the consultation have been used to develop the recommended

priority skills interventions in the next section, summarised as the following four key actions:

Developing employer leadership across New Anglia’s two key clusters-

Norwich and Ipswich and Implementing an employer led schools’

engagement programme (set out as 1a and 1b)

ii.

Developing a Level 4 apprenticeship offer, with a focus on general

insurance services

iii. Developing and communicating a vocational and academic qualification

and training ‘roadmap’ for the sector: from foundation to chartered

iv. Securing the availability of local post-graduate accredited professional

training

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Proposed Skills Interventions

Intervention 1a- Developing employer leadership across New Anglia’s two key

clusters- Norwich and Ipswich

Rationale: Employers welcomed the opportunity to develop close business networks

across New Anglia’s two key concentrations of the sector. Furthermore employers

expressed the importance of working together to support the economic and social

wellbeing across the area- as a ‘social partnership’. A cluster model was favoured by

the businesses consulted, as based on the evolving Norwich model- it is able to draw

in cross-sector areas, such as links to the professional, legal and digital tech sectors,

without losing the local focus across both counties.

For the development of a similar cluster-based approach for Ipswich the facilitation of

a new business network should be cognisant of significant sector activity across key

parts of Suffolk, including West Suffolk- Bury St. Edmunds and Haverhill.

A framework that highlights the shared priorities and positive differences between both

clusters should be developed, which can refer to New Anglia wide priorities for skills

development and the development of a ‘social partnership’, in order to plan business

engagement and activity. Organising the business community will provide an

underpinning ‘enabling’ role across all of the key interventions in the skills plan.

The commercial brokerage industry should also be encouraged to engage with

developing cluster arrangements across both areas- in order to identify and influence

the demand and supply of training for commercial brokerage activity.

Action to be Taken:

• Support the development of a new Financial Industries cluster group for the

Ipswich and surrounding Suffolk area, with a strategy that incorporates the key

interventions from the skills plan alongside a broader networking ‘business to

business’ focus and the coordination of key business support activities that

promote the economic growth of the sector;

• Identify the appropriate governance process to allow both cluster groups to

effectively work together, respecting local leadership and facilitating opportunities

for close collaboration on skills development;

• Consider and respond to the skills implications of ‘Fintech’ developments -

particularly for smaller businesses and actively encourage commercial brokerage

firms into the networks to enable a coordinated focus on commercial brokerage

professional development;

• Develop a framework to support both cluster groups for ongoing skills activity,

which defines New Anglia wide skills work and the delivery activity stemming from

the skills plan.

Facilitation: Ipswich Borough Council and Suffolk County Council for the development of

an Ipswich Financial Services cluster, (which is able to widen links to other areas across

Suffolk), in consultation with the University of Suffolk, the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce,

the FSB and Suffolk New College.

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The New Anglia Skills Board and FIG (Broadland District Council and the UEA) to

consider closer links across the New Anglia area and the key actions on governance and

action planning.

When: An Ipswich Financial Services cluster should ideally be operational by the end of

2018 to ensure the overall aims of the skills plan can be effectively taken forward across

the area.

Resources and support: Ipswich Borough Council and its partners along with the New

Anglia LEP should identify the most resource efficient approach towards development of

the cluster- consulting with FIG in Norwich to plan resource and collaboration models.

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Intervention 1b- Implementing an employer led schools’ engagement

programme

Rationale: An enterprise engagement and enrichment programme will help drive the

quality of new entrants with the right level of ‘soft skills’, support digital tech capability,

(which is increasingly important given digital automation across key parts of the sector)

and provide young people with quality employer encounters. Crucial to the

development of a focus for the sector is to ensure the existing enterprise offer for New

Anglia is maximised, with effective coordination with current and planned initiatives-

including the Opportunity Areas.

Action to be Taken:

Such a programme should include:

• Defining the key ‘soft skill’ competencies valued by employers and

mapping them to existing school enterprise activity;

• Setting work experience, internship and mentoring aspirational goals for

the sector to encourage business-educational interaction;

• Influencing existing careers guidance programmes to ensure they

provide up to date and accurate labour market intelligence about the

sector; and

• Maximise the use of digital and social media channels to promote the

sector and the enterprise engagement programme.

An employer-led ‘task force’ sponsored by the Skills Board, with invited representation

from employers involved in both financial clusters across New Anglia, should be

established and a school enterprise engagement action plan developed.

Leadership: Skills Board, employer community, careers and enterprise coordinators,

enterprise advisers, the National Careers Service prime providers, DWP, ESFA.

When: An enterprise engagement plan should be in place for the 2018/19 academic year,

to then be updated and repeated on an annual basis.

Resources and support: resource needs for co-ordination are comparatively modest but

it is important that a central resource is secured if needed to help co-ordinate careers

delivery. The private sector should be invited to consider sponsorship for the overall

approach and key activities stemming from it, given the extent to which this intervention

was considered ‘mission critical’ to the overall skills plan.

The majority of resources needed for delivery are already in place, through regional

programmes (e.g. icanbea, Enterprise Coordinators and the Enterprise Advisor Network)

and nationally (e.g. Careers Enterprise Company). In addition, many businesses in the

sector work with schools and FE/HE to promote the industry.

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Intervention 2- Developing a Level 4 apprenticeship offer for Financial Services

and Insurance, with a focus on general insurance services

Rationale: - Apprenticeship outcomes in general for the sector were underperforming

compared to national and regional outcomes for the sector and other key sectors. For the

key industries in general apprenticeship training was limited locally to level 3 pathways.

For general insurance in particular evidence captured highlighted that businesses have a

steady, ongoing recruitment demand that would benefit from a Level 4 option.

Employers are having to seek experienced candidates from other sectors such as retail or

are increasingly competing with each other as a local insurance industry. The lack of

apprenticeship delivery that are specific to the new national standards for the sector, limits

the vocational pathway New Anglia residents can take that can work equally as well as a

career model as traditional academic route ways.

Although larger employers have dedicated apprenticeship programmes through national

providers, SMEs were not able to engage as effectively in the apprenticeship offer locally

and were dissuaded from investment due to confusion in accessing training options and

concerns regarding cost and competition from other businesses.

Action to be Taken:

• Consult with the FIG and the new Ipswich cluster to capture more detailed

aggregate demands for general insurance training;

• Consult with the FE College group and relevant private training providers to assess

the adoption of new standards that respond to training demands;

• Work in partnership with FE leaders to identify how demands may be aggregated

and used for the development/investment of new apprenticeship provision, in line

with existing standards or identifying routeways for new standard design;

• Plan a targeted engagement and communication campaign to raise the profile of

apprenticeship training for SMEs.

Leadership: FIG and the Ipswich Cluster (supported by the Local Authorities and the New

Anglia LEP), the New Anglia FE College Group and the ESFA

When: Development of the apprenticeship investment information by end of 2018 and a

targeted marketing campaign through 2019.

Resources and support: ESFA for support on apprenticeship intelligence and

promotion, New Anglia LEP to consider support for employer engagement and facilitating

apprenticeship promotional activity through existing channels/shows etc. FE Colleges for

consultation on apprenticeship business development and the adoption of new standards.

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Intervention 3- Developing and communicating a vocational and academic

qualification and training ‘roadmap’ for the sector: from foundation to chartered

Rationale: Both vocational and academic pathways into careers within the sector hold

equal value; however employers are concerned that the stages and options are not well

known and are impacting on the flow of new entrants into the sector.

Given the expected overall demand of 14,000 new entrants- the need for clarifying the

career roles from entry through to chartered and the learning activity involved at each

stage- will help improve engagement and the overall labour market.

Action to be Taken:

• A key facts overview of the sector and ‘Steps to Being a Finance and Insurance

Professional’ Roadmap should be designed and produced in consultation with and

promoted through both clusters;

• The roadmap should cover options following both academic and vocational route

ways;

• Further action to be considered to breakdown the data analysis of growth and

replacement demand and ensure the key training and career choices reflect job

roles and functions that will be of higher demand- thus ‘future-proofing skills’ and

employment outcomes;

• Plan the dissemination of the materials through existing education and enterprise

organisations, the enterprise coordinators and adviser network and published

centrally through the LEP’s website.

Leadership: The Skills Board should consider how overall the materials can be most

effectively developed in consultation with the LEP and the business community.

When: Sector overview and the ‘Steps to Being a Finance Professional’ Roadmap to be

produced ready for the 2018/19 academic year.

Resources and support: Other areas demonstrating good practice should be consulted

to inform the planning and production of materials (for example the Essex Employment

and Skills Board’s sector overview road maps). New Anglia LEP to facilitate the

production of the products and invite sponsorship from key employers from both cluster

groups.

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Intervention 4- Securing the availability of local post-graduate accredited

professional training

Rationale: Given the national recognition of the sector’s value and size- there are no

current CII accredited post-graduate options to support CPD for the key industries within

the sector. Employers and employees have to access postgraduate provision in Scotland,

Manchester and London. This in turn limits the progression towards professional status

and the overall value of the sector as a hub of excellence. A business case should be

developed that defines the postgraduate demands for the sector and in partnership with

the HEIs- brokerage with the CII should be performed.

Action to be Taken:

•

Develop a University and FE focus group- recognising commercial sensitivities-

that can consider existing and future investment in higher education for the sector

overall, with advice from HEFCE where appropriate;

•

Impact the development of higher apprenticeship standards for the sector based

on the Institute for Apprenticeships registration and national trailblazer activity- and

consider the match between current and forecast demands for the sector;

•

Consult with the national Banking Standards Board and the Institute of Financial

Services- for planning the promotion and adoption of skills and qualifications

across New Anglia Financial Service and Insurance employers- particularly at the

SME level- to stimulate greater demand for professional development across the

sector;

•

Broker a pan New Anglia post-graduate qualification framework, which would be

an ‘aspirational baseline’ of course content and availability that aligns with career

progression towards professional status (chartered) in the sector’s key industries;

•

Consult with the Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII) and the Personal Finance

Society (PFS) to identify actions towards seeking HE accredited provision for New

Anglia;

•

Respond to the likely CPD needs for locally-based businesses in respect of

Fintech / digitalisation developments;

•

Ensure Norwich and Ipswich clusters can become beacons for professional

development overall for the sector- lobbying for national investment and

development where necessary based on an emerging post-graduate qualifications

framework.

Leadership: New Anglia Skills Board, FIG, Ipswich Cluster, UEA, UoS, HEFCE, CII

When: Aim for a base-lined New Anglia post graduate qualification framework to be

designed throughout 2018 and a developmental plan in place from 2019 onwards.

Resources and support: A dedicated resource to broker and facilitate the development

of the activity across New Anglia should be considered by the key partners/partnerships

invited to take a lead role. Further support direct from employers within the cluster groups

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and national funding and regulation/membership bodies such as the CII, PFS and the

Banking Standards Board.

Appendix A- Skills Plan Development Process

The development of the Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan was overseen

by a LEP and Local Authority officers and a series of employer representative ‘task and

finish’ meetings between October 2017 and March 2018. The final plan was presented to a

key stakeholder group, which included industry representation from the New Anglia Skills

Board in March 2018. In addition to this sector skills plan document, a supporting Datapack

has been produced which outlines the current workforce in the sector, trends in its skills

levels and how the local Financial Services and Insurance sector in New Anglia compares

with other areas. The Datapack also reports on the underlying socio-economic context for

the sector locally and reports on projected changes in future skills needs and current student

numbers.

To capture primary evidence through qualitative, semi-structured, interview methodology

with the employers and key stakeholders we established a series of key themes and lines of

enquiry. The key lines represented a framework to guide the consultation process however

the questions were not prescriptive and the semi-structured approach enabled further issues

to be detailed based on the responses from the consultees.

Key Themes & Lines of Enquiry

Five key themes were identified and agreed following the initial research- focusing on

existing policy, quantitative data analysis and previous sector intelligence that has been

captured and reported. The feedback from the key lines, along with the earlier

quantitative and desk based research, shaped the evidence captured in ‘Opportunities

in Challenges’ in the main report and the rationale for each strategic intervention in

the Delivery Plan.

Theme 1- Training Investment and the Jobs Market

What are the main areas of training that employers invest in within their business? Do they

expect their training needs to change over time- if so why and in what way?

Do employers have confidence in the current labour market? Are they able to find the

relevant skilled staff or are there gaps and barriers? Are they recruiting- if so to what roles

and what are their expected recruitment needs?

Theme 2- Training Delivery

Where do employers go for their training- what type of provider, provision/qualification and

where are they located? How do they rate the training they access and what can be done to

meet their needs better?

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Theme 3- Apprenticeships and Workforce Development

Do employers recruit apprentices? If so- in what standards/job roles and if not- why, are

there job roles that are not served by apprenticeship provision? Do employers anticipate

that the levy will stimulate further interest and investment in apprenticeships? What are their

views regarding the development of their existing staff workforce and apprenticeships?

How are you affected by the transferability of skills both in terms of recruiting to the sector

from other industries but also candidates diversifying into other industries and markets

outside the area and the skills gaps this would leave in your sector?

Theme 4- Recruiting New Entrants and Promoting Future Supply

Where do employers look for taking on new entrants? What level of experience must they

have and what is their view on recruiting young people- both non-graduates and graduates?

How can their industries be promoted to young people to encourage new supply and what

‘key employability skills’ should they have. Are employers interested in supporting the

coordination of enterprise engagement within schools, colleges and universities?

How do changes in technology impact on your workforce- size, training and future

recruitment needs?

Theme 5- Taking Forward the Skills Plan for New Anglia

What are the top overall priorities that a ‘Skills Plan’ for should capture and what role would

they wish to have in supporting the plan’s forward delivery?

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List of Consultees

A series of key interviews were conducted with a mix of employers, sector skills providers

and representative bodies. In total over 40 consultees were interviewed in depth and/or

attended the meetings held or provided other direct input (presentations at events, referrals,

links to reports etc). These consultees included:

Becky Ames- Larking Gowen

Gillian Anderson Brown- Alan Boswell Group

Nick Banks- Scrutton Bland

Peter Basford- Lloyds Bank

Steve Burton- AVIVA

Julian Campbell- University of East Anglia

Eve Cronin- Norfolk County Council

Steve Davidson- Marsh

Mike Dawes- CarterDawes

Peter Dawes- CarterDawes

Alastair Drew- Alan Boswell Group

Anna Douglas- University of East Anglia

Dominique Fell-Clark- Policy Bee

Michelle Gordon- Ipswich Borough Council

Lucy Golding- Grant Thornton

Sophie Gray- AVIVA

Nathan Harvey- AJG

Andrew Hunt- AVIVA

Tom Jell- Ipswich Building Society

Jasmine Joolia- Suffolk County Council

Kenny Lang- New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership

Philip Lodgson- Aviva

Colin Low- Kingsfleet Wealth

Simon Lubbock- NATWEST

Raphael Markellos- University of East Anglia

Jenny Melling- AVIVA

Maxine Narburgh- Ipswich Borough Council

Naresh Pandit- University of East Anglia

Stephen Scowen- Broadland District Council

Del Sharman- Poundgates

Carl Shave- The Mortgage Centre

Malcolm Smith- AVIVA

Tim Taylor- Grant Thornton

Ellen Tilney- Norwich City Council

Paul Whittingham- Ashtons Legal

Paul Winter- New Anglia Skills Board

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Appendix B- Evidence Report (Datapack Summary)

Key Findings from the Data Analysis (please refer to the Datapack):

GVA has increased since 2010 but has been fairly flat since 2013. Employment increased

between 2010 and 2014 but decreased by over 3,000 jobs between 2014 and 2015.

In total, 1,460 learning aims related to the Financial Services & Insurance sector were

delivered to New Anglia residents in 2012/13. This formed 1.8 per cent of all known learning

aims delivered in New Anglia, compared to 2.6 per cent nationally

Since 2010/11, there has been a 29 per cent increase in the number of Financial Services &

Insurance learning aims delivered to New Anglia residents. Nationally, learning aims for the

sector increased by 33 per cent.

Apprenticeship start numbers in frameworks relevant to the sector are fairly low, and

apprenticeship participation numbers are below what we would expect the sector to

contribute based on its employment numbers.

21 per cent of Financial Services employers in New Anglia reported having staff that were

not fully proficient in 2015, compared to an average of 14 per cent. However, staff not fully

proficient as a percentage of employment in the sector stood at only two per cent (below the

averages for New Anglia, regionally and nationally).

The sector is projected to decline in employment terms between 2014 and 2024 by around

three per cent (approximately 1,000 jobs).

Despite this overall projected decline in job numbers there will still be growth areas within the

sector with around 4,000 new jobs forecast over this period. In addition, replacement

demand is expected to be somewhere in the region of 10,000 jobs. This places a net

requirement for jobs requiring to be filled in the sector at around 14,000.

New jobs creation (expansion demand) will be primarily in roles requiring degree level skills

and higher (Level 4 and above) with job losses in lower skilled roles. This trend can be seen

in changes in qualifications in the sector between 2001 and 2011.

However, current vacancy data suggests that the number of HE level opportunities is small

when compared with lower level job opportunities.

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Skills Supply & Demand Analysis

The Financial Services & Insurance sector workforce in New Anglia is becoming higher

skilled as analysis of 2001 and 2011 Census data shows. However, in terms of this shift in

qualifications then New Anglia still lags behind regional and national averages for the sector

but this is positive nonetheless.

2011

14%

24%

19%

37%

2001

19%

38%

19%

17%

2011

17%

24%

17%

35%

2001

21%

37%

17%

16%

2011

12%

18%

15%

49%

2001

17%

31%

16%

27%

100%

No qualifications

Level 1 qualifications

Level 2 qualifications

Level 3 qualifications

Level 4 qualifications and above

Apprenticeships and other qualifications

The following analysis is based on data sourced from the Department for Education’s

Further Education data library. The Sector Lead Body identified as being the most relevant

to the Financial Services & Insurance Sector is ‘Finance, Accountancy & Financial Services’.

In total, 1,460 learning aims related to the Financial Services & Insurance sector were

delivered to New Anglia residents in 2012/13. This formed 1.8 per cent of all known learning

aims delivered in New Anglia, compared to 2.6 per cent nationally; considering all learning

aims delivered (i.e. including those classed as ‘unknown’ then these figures fall to 0.7 and

1.0 per cent respectively).

Compared to 2010/11, when the number of learning aims delivered to New Anglia residents

was 1,130, then numbers are up for the sector lead body in question. Overall, this results in

there having been a 29 per cent increase in the number of Financial Services & Insurance

learning aims delivered to New Anglia residents over the period in question. Nationally over

the same period, learning aims for the sector increased by 33 per cent.

The majority of these learning aims (1,120 or 77 per cent) achieved by New Anglia residents

were delivered by New Anglia based providers. This is slightly more than the average for

New Anglia (75 per cent).

Provision of Financial Services & Insurance sector learning aims by New Anglia providers to

New Anglia residents has increased over the time period in question, from 770 (45 per cent).

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In terms of apprenticeships, then in 2014/15 there were 320 starts in ‘Accounting’ and

‘Providing Financial Services’ apprenticeships in New Anglia. This was up from 255 starts in

these apprenticeship frameworks combined in 2011/12.

Data on apprenticeship participation by sector provides a slightly different perspective with

‘Financial and insurance activities’ accounting for 2.4 per cent (520) of all apprenticeships in

2014/15, which is lower than the level of employment it provides (four per cent).

The following is based on analysis of LEP level results for the Financial Services sector from

the UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2015.

Financial Services employers on average are more likely to have vacancies locally, and

regionally (but in line with the national average). Financial Services establishments with

vacancies are also more likely to report these as being Skills Shortage Vacancies (SSVs).

Financial Services employers are also much more likely to report having any staff that are

not fully proficient with 21 per cent stating this compared to a New Anglia, regional, and

national average of around 14 per cent. However, with staff not fully proficient as a

percentage of employment at two per cent (below the New Anglia average of three per cent

and regional and national rates of five per cent) suggests that this is an issue for small

employers in the sector.

This is further backed up by the sectors performance against training measures (such as the

provision of training in the last year, and on-the-job training) where it performs above local,

regional and national averages for all indicators. Conversely, training days per trainee, and

trainee days per staff, are both much lower than all other comparators. Financial Services

employers are also less likely to report underutilised staff than local, regional, and national

averages (20 per cent compared to 25, 25, and 30 per cent respectively)

The following makes use of data and findings available via the online toolkit

http://wheretheworkis.org/. The findings presented are a result of combining data from the

UKCES ‘Working Futures’ programme and job vacancy data from the Labour Market Insight

tool developed by Burning Glass. The two occupations that were highlighted as relevant to

the sector were ‘Administrative: Finance’, and ‘Business, Finance and Related Associate

Professionals’.

The majority of job vacancy postings during 2015 for the Financial Services & Insurance

sector in New Anglia were aimed at school leavers (53 per cent), with a quarter (26 per cent)

requiring HE level skills and a fifth (21 per cent) requiring FE skills. However, a clear split in

qualification requirements by occupation can be observed.

Administrative: Finance

1,390

386

207

Business, Finance and Related

203

226

572

Associate Professionals

School leaver

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Advertised salaries for the sector in New Anglia were lower than those advertised regionally

and well below those nationally.

A Future View of the Financial Services & Insurance Sector

Looking ahead, and using information from both the East of England Forecasting Model, and

the UKCES Working Futures model, then the sector is projected to decline in employment

terms between 2014 and 2024 by just over three per cent (approximately 1,000 jobs).

Despite this overall projected decline in job numbers there will still be growth areas within the

sector with around 4,000 new jobs at Level 4 to 6 (HE to First degree level) and above. At

the same time, there will be a significant amount of existing jobs to replace as people leave

the sector workforce. Over the period 2014 - 2024, replacement demand is expected to be

somewhere in the region of 10,000 jobs. This places a net requirement for jobs requiring to

be filled in the sector at around 14,000.

-2,000 -1,000

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

QCF 7-8

QCF 4-6

QCF 3

QCF 2

QCF 1

No Qual

Expansion Demand

Replacement Demand

Replacement demand is set to be experienced at all qualification levels with the majority in

Level 4 to 6 (HE to First degree level) roles. In terms of new jobs created (expansion

demand) will be in Level 4 roles and higher with job losses in Level 3 roles and below.

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Appendix C- Current Skills and Training Provision

The listing below is not exhaustive, but is intended to give an overview of the range of

provision available in Norfolk and Suffolk or accessed by companies located there. Much of

the provision content for Financial Services is closely aligned with business administration,

management development and economics at a Higher Education level; therefore the

relevant courses offering broader course content have been included.

In addition to both FE and HE provision is a range of courses delivered either remotely or

within local training centres by national private training providers. For example Kaplan have

training centres in New Anglia and are a nationally accredited provider of accountancy, tax,

bookkeeping and financial management.

Higher Education

University of East Anglia (UEA)

•

BSc Accounting and Finance

•

BSc Accounting and Finance with a Year Abroad

•

BSc Accounting and Management

•

BSc Accounting and Management with a Year Abroad

•

MSc Accounting and Finance

•

MSc Banking and Finance

•

MSc Behavioural and Experimental Economics

•

BSc Business Economics

•

BSc Business Economics with a Year Abroad

•

BSc Business Finance and Economics

•

BSc Business Finance and Economics with a Year Abroad

•

BSc Business Finance and Management

•

BSc Business Finance and Management with a Year Abroad

•

BSc Business Management

•

MSc Business Management

•

BSc Business Management with a Year Abroad

•

MSc Development Economics (and part time too)

•

BSc Economics

•

Graduate Diploma Economics

•

MSc Economics

•

Economics Postgraduate Research PhDs and Studentships

•

BSc Economics and Finance

•

MSc Economics and Finance

•

MSc Economics and International Relations (and part time too)

•

MSc Economics of International Finance and Trade

•

MSc Economics of Money, Banking and Capital Markets

•

BSc Economics with Accountancy

•

BSc Economics with Accountancy with a Year Abroad

•

BSc Economics with a Year Abroad

•

MSc Finance and Economics

•

MSc Finance and Management

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• MSc International Accounting and Financial Management

• MSc International Business Economics (and part time too)

• MSc International Business Finance and Economics (and part time too)

• MSc Investment and Financial Management

• MBA Masters of Business Administration (part time too)

• BSc Mathematics with Business

• MSc Mathematics with a Year in Industry

• MSc Quantitative Financial Economics

University of Suffolk (UoS)

• BA (Hons) Accounting and Financial Management

• BA (Hons) Business Management

• MSc Business and Management

• Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship

• BA (Hons) Economics

• BA (Hons) Economics, Banking and Finance

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Further Education (including HE content delivered through FE institutes)

City College Norwich (CCN)

•

L2 - Administration

•

L2 - Apprenticeship in Accounting

•

L2 - Intermediate Apprenticeship in Business Administration

•

L2 - Intermediate Apprenticeship in Customer Service

•

L2 - Intermediate Apprenticeship in Providing Financial Services

•

L3 - Advanced Apprenticeship in Business Administration

•

L3 - Advanced Apprenticeship in Customer Service

•

L3 - Advanced Apprenticeship in Providing Financial Services

•

L3 - Advanced Apprenticeship in Management

•

L3 - Assistant Accountant Apprenticeship Standard Level

•

L3 - Business Diploma

•

GCSE AS Level - Business Studies

•

L3 - Commerce and Financial Services

•

L3 - Customer and Property Services

•

L3 - Principles of Business - Customer Service

•

L4 - Higher Apprenticeship in Business and Administration

•

L5 - Leadership and Management Higher Apprenticeship

•

Access to Higher Education Business Management

•

BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-up)

•

BA (Hons) Leadership and Management

•

Accounting Certificate Level 2

•

Accounting Diploma Level 3

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• Accounting Diploma Level 4

• Book Keeping & Accounts Level 1

• Book Keeping & Accounts Level 2

• Excel Training

College of West Anglia

• L2 & L3 - Customer Service Apprenticeship

• A Level Economics

• A Level Further Maths

• A Level Maths

• A Level Business Studies

• Access to Higher Education Diploma - Business

• L2 & L3 - Business & Administration

• L2 & L3 - Business Improvement Techniques

• L2 - Business Administration Apprenticeship

• L2 - Customer Service Apprenticeship

• L3- Customer Service Apprenticeship

• L3 - Business Administration Apprenticeship

• L4 - Business & Professional Administration Apprenticeship

• BA (Hons) in Business Management (and part time too)

• Customer Service and Selling Skills - Workshop

• Management and Leadership - L5 Apprenticeship

East Coast College

• L2 - Apprenticeship in Business Administration

• L3 - Apprenticeship in Management

• L2 - Apprenticeship in Customer Service

• L3 - Apprenticeship in Customer Service

• L3 - Apprenticeship in Business Administration

• L3 - Extended Diploma in Business Management

• L4 - Apprenticeship in Business Administration

• L4 - Apprenticeship in Management

• L4 - Diploma in Business and Administration

• FdA Business Management

• Leadership & Management L2/3/4/5

East Norfolk Sixth Form College

• AAT Accounting (Foundation Certificate) Single Pre-Apprenticeship

• Business (Single) BTEC Level 2 and Level 3

• Economics - A Level

• Finance (Level 1 & 2) - Additional Subjects

• Financial Studies - Level 3 Certificate

• Further Maths - A Level

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• Maths GCSE, A Level, L3, Functional Skills

Easton and Otley College

• An Introduction to Double Entry Bookkeeping

• Advanced Apprenticeship in Business Administration

• Intermediate Apprenticeship in Business Administration

• Advanced Apprenticeship in Customer Service

• Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship

• L3/4/5 Leadership and Management

Suffolk New College

• Access to L 2 & L3

• Association of Accounting Technician Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting

• Association of Accounting Technicians Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting

• Association of Accounting Technicians Level 4 Diploma in Accounting

• Bookkeeping

• GCSE Mathematics

• L2 Diploma in Business

• L1 Introductory in Business

• L3 Extended Diploma in Business

West Suffolk College

•

AAT Accounting Foundation Cert. L2

•

AAT Bookkeeping Foundation Cert L2

•

AAT Computerised Accounting Foundation Award L2

•

AAT Accounting Advanced Diploma L3

•

AAT Accounting Advanced Diploma L3 - Fast track

•

AAT Accounting Professional Diploma L4

•

AAT Bookkeeping Advanced Cert L3

•

AAT Essentials - Effective budgeting and cost control

•

AAT Essentials - Management reporting for modern day finance

•

AAT Essentials - Tax update

•

L2 - Customer Service Practitioner

•

L3 & L5 & L7 - Certificate/Award in Leadership & Management

•

Customer Service Excellence - 1 day workshop

•

Accounting - Advanced Apprenticeship

•

Advanced Excel

•

Bookkeeping Award Level 1

•

Business Accounting and Finance Level 3

•

Business Administration - Intermediate Apprenticeship

•

Business Administrator - Level 3

•

Business Diploma L 2

•

Business Extended Diploma L3

•

Business Management Access to HE - Level 3

•

Business Management BA (Hons)

•

ILM Level 7 Cert in Leadership and Management

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• Improvers Excel

ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)

• Accounting Update

• Tax Update

• ICAEW East Anglia Accounting Update

• Taking the panic out of GDPR

• LANSCA Master Class

• Anti money laundering and practice regulation update

• OMBs: What’s hot in tax

• Succession planning - keeping it in the family

• Train to become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant in the Middle East

• East Anglia Tax Update

• Charities accounts and audit

• Annual PAYE, NIC and benefits update

• The Accountants’ Secrets for a Buy to Let Landlord

• Finance Act 2018

• Corporation tax update

Financial Services and Insurance Sector Skills Plan Final for Skills Board v004

Confidential - Not for further circulation