Button pressed on Scottish fintech skills academy

A consortium of international fintech companies have joined forces to launch a new initiative aimed at ensuring the burgeoning sector in Scotland has access to the skills it needs.

The initiative has been launched in response to the growth of the sector. Picture: Contributed

Businesses including Renovite Technologies and Ingenico Group have formed a partnership with industry body FinTech Scotland, Fife Council and Fife College to launch Scotland’s first “Fintech Skills Academy”.

The academy aims to develop courses to provide a steady flow of highly qualified applicants for the growing number of specialist roles in fintech (financial technology) in the region and to avoid the potential of a skills gap developing.

Stephen Ingledew, chief executive of FinTech Scotland, said: “Developing people’s skills in an imperative for the future growth of the fintech sector in Scotland and the launch of the Academy is a further indication that the community is turning its aspirations into tangible actions that will create great opportunities.”

Jim Tomaney, chief operating officer at US payments technology firm Renovite Technologies, which has a major site at Dunfermline, said: “As Scotland’s fintech sector grows so does the demand for people with the right skills. To avoid the emergence of a skills gap, as we’ve seen happen in several other Stem industries, we’ve developed an innovative plan to pre-emptively plug it.

“The Fintech Skills Academy programme will help candidates successfully prepare for new roles while at the same time, help employers by improving candidate’s understanding of the standards fintech employers want. It’s a win-win scenario that we hope will be replicated nationwide.”

The first course to be staged as part of the initiative will be focused on the card payments sector and run at Fife College.