Jersey Finance | The Changing Face of the Industry
It’s interesting to reflect that five years ago, we – along with colleagues, family and friends all over the world – had entered our first period of lockdown as the brutal reality of the pandemic hit.
It was a new experience for all of us. Half a decade ago; it seems so long ago on the one hand, and yet still so immediate on the other.
Looking back, it was impressive to see just how quickly Jersey’s finance industry was able to pivot to a new order of things back in 2020 – from our point of view, all our regular industry updates and stakeholder engagements diverted rapidly online, and our overseas markets activity was very quickly adapted to suit remote working.
From an industry perspective, firms were able to almost seamlessly roll out their business continuity plans and morph to remote working models. Resilience was the order of the day, and service quality was impressively maintained – it says something about the sophistication of our industry’s infrastructure that we were able to do so – far better than some other centres.
It seems obvious to say all this now – this was only five years ago and the impact of that experience has fundamentally changed our approach as an industry to our working lives, accelerating digital transformation, cementing the remote work concept and changing the face entirely of client interactions.
Future IFC
But the point of this blog is not to reflect on the past five years – but rather what we’ve learned from it and how it is shaping our future as an IFC.
It’s taught us about the importance of operational resilience – ensuring secure systems, compliance, and uninterrupted services.
It’s focussed minds on cybersecurity and data protection in a world where digital transactions are the norm.
And it’s elevated thinking around employee wellbeing, engagement and mental health.
And it continues to shape work practices. Businesses are still honing their policies around flexible working models to ensure work-life balance; firms are accelerating the adoption of AI and automation to boost productivity and efficiencies; and the concept of the office and work travel is being increasingly framed against the backdrop of cost and sustainability.
Workforce of tomorrow
For us as an industry, this is all vital as we look to nurture the next generation of leaders and develop a sustainable, highly-skilled local workforce – it’s part of our future-fit workforce strategy; a critical strategy as we enhance our competitiveness as an IFC.
"The workforce of tomorrow has been defined by this post-pandemic experience and shifting work practices, and we need to continue to ensure that, as an industry, we meet their needs and expectations if we are to succeed and compete at a global level."
That’s why we have ramped up our engagement with local schools – hosting more finance days than ever before and talking to students proactively about the diverse opportunities in financial services – from preventing financial crime to family wealth to investments to communications – and the opportunities a fulfilling career in financial and professional services can offer.
It’s why we have grown our Life in Finance scheme to double the amount of student sign-ups year on year.
It’s why we continue to prioritise supporting young talent, through our Future Connect programme, Rising Stars Awards and Future Leaders Forum.
And it’s why we’re engaging more with career switchers and those considering rejoining the industry after a career break, in the belief that there is a job for everyone in the finance industry, through our Reconnect programme – which last year attracted the highest number of attendees ever.
We are also continuing to build on the outcomes of our ‘Ready’ summit held last year, where we talked at length to groups of young talent, experienced professionals and senior leaders about how to address challenges to ensure Jersey’s long-term success in financial and related professional services.
Firms in Jersey have a good track record of bringing diverse and specialist talent to the Island through their international networks, and of developing talent locally too. We must maintain that momentum, informed by our learnings around the evolving workplace culture, to create the sort of vibrant, attractive and fulfilling environment our future leaders expect.