Build a broking skills matrix from live UK role data

What does financial-services hiring look like right now?

Broking sits inside one of the most tightly regulated corners of the UK labour market, and the qualifications bar is high. Recent government analysis shows that in the financial services sector, recruitment was generally for roles at Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 and above, rather than the lower RQF 3 to 5 band a GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List report. In plain terms, RQF 6 maps to degree-level and professional qualifications, so employers are competing for people who already carry serious credentials.

That matters when you build a skills matrix. If the market is hiring mostly at RQF 6 and above the same GOV.UK report, your matrix has to capture formal qualifications as a hard column, not a nice-to-have. The question for every broking team is simple: where do we sit against that bar today, and who do we need next?

Which broking roles and skills should the matrix track?

Live UK role data is your raw material. Pull the broking adverts your competitors are running right now, and you'll see the same patterns repeat: regulated qualifications, technical broking knowledge, and the human skills that win and keep clients.

Group what you find into clear columns so the matrix stays usable:

• Regulated qualifications and status: the formal credentials UK broking roles ask for, reflecting a market hiring largely at RQF 6 and above per the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List report.
• Technical competencies: risk assessment, placement, policy wording, claims handling and the class-of-business specialisms your desk covers.
• Systems and data: the platforms, rating tools and reporting your brokers use day to day.
• Client and commercial skills: relationship management, negotiation, new business development and retention.
• Compliance and conduct: the ongoing regulatory awareness every broking role now needs.

Score each person against each column, then read the matrix two ways. Down the columns shows single points of failure, one person holding a critical skill. Across the rows shows who is ready to stretch into the next role.

How do you hire well against a broking skills matrix?

Once the matrix shows your gaps, hiring gets sharper. Instead of writing a vague advert, you brief for the exact columns you need to fill. If the gap is a regulated qualification, you screen for it first, because the market is competing hard for people at that level as the GOV.UK report sets out.

A few practical moves help:

• Write the job brief straight from the empty cells in your matrix, not from a generic template.
• Separate the must-have regulated qualifications from the skills a strong hire can learn on the desk.
• Ask interview questions that test the specific competencies you're short on, with real scenarios.
• Refresh the matrix after every hire, so it stays a live picture rather than a one-off audit.

Done well, the matrix turns hiring from guesswork into a plan. You know what you have, what you're missing, and exactly who to go looking for.

How can Reed.ai help you fill the gaps in your matrix?

Once your matrix shows a gap, we help you fill it fast. We search a database of 15 million candidates, match people to the exact skills and qualifications your matrix calls for, and hand you a ranked shortlist so you can move quickly. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us the gap in your matrix and we'll start the search today.

Sources

• GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report