North’s financial sector rated has one of happiest

It may not have the most exciting of reputations as a career option but it appears, for Northern workers, that the financial sector is one of the happiest places to work,

In a survey of northern workers, KPMG finds that people working in the North’s financial services sector are happier than the regional average, with 86 per cent of bank, insurance or asset management employees saying they like their job compared to 79 per cent of workers in different sectors.

KPMG also found that almost two fifths of financial services employees in the North had parents who worked in the same industry. By contrast, the figure stood at 14 per cent across non-finance employees.

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Nationally, this trend was most prevalent in younger people with more than half of 16-24-year-olds in financial services having followed in their parents’ footprints. This was true of just one in five of 16 to 24-year-olds in other sectors.

However, at a time when competition for talent is fierce, two thirds of Northerners would not consider taking a role in financial services.

More than two in five people outside the sector cited the ‘boring’ reputation of financial services as their main reason for not wanting to work in the sector.

Richard Little, head of regional financial services at KPMG, said: “There’s clearly a gap between what the public think, and the realities of working in financial services.

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“That has to be addressed if the industry is to attract the diverse mix of skills and experience needed to navigate the changes going on in financial services and society.

“Technology and customer engagement is a priority for most of my clients right now, so people working in retail, leisure or IT could have a huge amount to offer.

“But, the sector has an image problem that’s putting off that talent.”

Nationally, those aged between 25 and 34 working in finance are the happiest employees in the UK, with nine in 10 saying they enjoy their job.

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