How Workfinder is supporting Fintechs to embed work experience in their companies (500 words / 2 min read)

The recently published Kalifa Review of UK Fintech highlighted the opportunity for the Fintech sector to contribute £13.7bn to the economy by 2030, with job creation 70% of this. Skills is a key enabler, and The Review makes several recommendations to help connect talent with growing businesses.

One of these is to offer embedded work placements to Further and Higher Education students and Kickstarters, through technology solution providers like Workfinder.

But the opportunity to get the economy moving post-pandemic is threatened because fast-growing business don’t have the time or resource to manage work placements, and because of headwinds that could see up to 86% of FinTech’s relocate elsewhere.

At Workfinder, we understand that Fintech firms have unique talent needs, requiring a combination of data and business skills. As Nicholas Taylor of Revolut said: “The main skill in demand is the ability to handle data and the ability to quantify and make decisions based on that data.”

Our technology solution is already helping Fintech leaders to close the skills gap, as well as retain and future-proof their existing workforce. Getting key staff involved in an easy-to-place work experience programme makes them proud they can make a difference in the lives of young people and potentially help shape a future employee.

In building a digital brokerage service dedicated to connecting and placing students, we have established connections with further education providers, higher education students and Kickstarters, through partnerships with organisations like Group GTI. We connect them with youth from all backgrounds, who access through remote work placements and the ten regional hubs we operate.

The announcement of ‘flexi-job apprenticeships’ in last week’s budget, meaning young people will be able to develop their skills by taking on different jobs with multiple employers in one sector, was also welcome.

We are unique in offering a personalised placement experience with multiple companies. Users can select their preference for Fintech, and we will recommend relevant opportunities at the appropriate time. This could carry over multiple roles, so is the perfect way for employers and jobseekers to find to build rich experiences and share the cost.

Workfinder was constructed deliberately so that candidates can request only notifications for opportunities in specific types of companies. By noting an attribute of a student, we are able to rotate a student through a particular sector and a particular set of employers just by tweaking a preference.

It’s easy to set up a work placement opportunity. Workfinder offers:

• Templates to help launch the work placement at your company.
• Easy and safe connection with 60,000+ young people from all backgrounds, across the UK.
• A proprietary algorithm that recommends you to young people interested in Fintech.
• A free-to-use platform at the point of placement.
• End to end support with tools and templates to make hosting simple and valuable.