Mike Leeman: Spread the news: finance sector is back on track

Published on Tuesday 17 August 2010 14:19

After what appeared to be the economic collapse of Scotland's banking and financial services sector in 2008, there is new hope emerging that the worst is over and it is on the way back.

Before the global crash of two years ago, Scotland's financial services sector was thriving. We all know that rosy picture has been altered dramatically over the past two years where we have seen a sharp decline with part nationalisation of our two biggest banks.

This has not only made a major impact on the economy, it has also been a huge blow to national pride - and it is possible that we may not have yet reached rock bottom. Last month, a report showed there are 7,300 fewer jobs in the Scottish operations of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group than at this time last year, while recent announcements of redundancies at Aegon and Standard Life Bank show the sector is still volatile.

There are, however, reasons to be cheerful about the future of the financial services sector, which still accounts for up to one in ten Scottish jobs, with 91,600 people directly employed in the industry and the same again in support services Those of us who operate within the sector are seeing tangible signs of recovery; there is again talk of firms moving jobs north of the Border and companies are beginning to increase investment in Scotland. This growth highlights a real challenge facing Scotland's financial services firms: the need to find, develop and retain skill levels.

Since the dramatic events of two years ago, we have seen a significant brain drain, with a lot of the talent leaving Scotland to ply its trade elsewhere and, in some cases, outside of the financial services industry. We now need to get the skills and expertise back to Scotland.

We need an industry-wide PR offensive, supported by Scottish Financial Enterprise and all the key business organisations, to ensure that this positive message about recovery gets out to the domestic and international marketplace. We need to tell the world that Scotland's financial services sector is on the way back so we can once again develop, nurture and attract the best talent. Only by having access to the best can we rebuild this industry which is vital to Scotland's long-term economic success.

• Mike Leeman is the financial recruitment manager at Bright Purple Resourcing