The Fintech Talent Development,Competency, and Manpower Study

The Fintech Talent Development, Competency, and Manpower Study 58 Sources of Fintech Professionals Combined with the fintech degree programs presented earlier, the total annual fintech-related graduates will grow from 720 in 2020 to 1,525 in 2024 (Exhibit 24). According to Government Statistics, the financial services sector employed 263,000 persons in 2018, or around 7% of total employment in Hong Kong. As a percentage of the work force in the finance industry, the supply of Fintech professionals through formal education channels remains low in the years to come. In addition, to remedy the technical and behavioral skills gap in the fintech industry, changes in primary and secondary education are needed to scaffold the efforts of university-level programs. While certain technical skills can be learned by an adult in a relatively short time period, for the majority of the 13 behavioral competencies identified in this Study, the earlier these competencies are given the opportunity to be developed, the better. Online Training Programs To cope with increasing demand for fintech professionals worldwide, a variety of online fintech programs were launched in recent years. Some are offered by renowned academic institutions including Harvard, MIT, and Oxford. These online programs typically operate in asynchronous mode with an open learning schedule cater for the different needs of learners. The tuition is often low or even free. Participants can learn at their own pace whenever and wherever they want. For those who want to receive assessments, these programs also offer a certificate with a fee. Online Fintech Training Widely Accessible, Of Varying Quality While widely accessible, the quality of these programs varies significantly. They are cost-effective in delivering basic concepts and background information, but fall short in the specificity and context that are relevant to real life applications. Because they operate in an asynchronous mode in order to leverage economy of scale, there is inevitably a lack of interaction and peer learning.