Financial services is one of the UK's most skills-hungry sectors, and the demand is tilting towards specialists rather than entry-level hires. In the sector, recruitment has generally been for higher-skill, Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3 to 5 roles a 2026 GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List report. That matters for anyone building a broking team today. The people you most want are qualified, experienced and already in short supply.
Esports and live events cover sit right at that higher-skill edge. These are newer, fast-moving risks: cancelled tournaments, prize indemnity, kit and equipment, cyber exposure, public liability for crowds. Pricing and placing them well takes judgement, not just a rate card. So the roles opening up aren't junior admin seats. They're specialist broker and underwriting roles that need genuine expertise.
The clearest pull is towards qualified specialists, in line with the sector's wider shift to RQF 6+ recruitment the same GOV.UK report. Think account executives who can win and keep esports clients, placing brokers who understand the Lloyd's and company markets for contingency risk, and underwriters comfortable pricing prize indemnity and event cancellation.
Around them sit the supporting roles that make a specialist desk work: broker support and technicians who handle submissions and endorsements, claims handlers who know how a cancelled event or a disputed prize actually settles, and risk or compliance people keeping placements clean. Esports adds a digital dimension too, so cyber and media knowledge is increasingly prized. The common thread is depth. Employers want people who already speak the language of the risk.
Start by being honest about which skills are must-have and which you can train. With hiring concentrated at RQF 6+ in the sector the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List report, the fully qualified specialist is the hardest person to find, so decide early whether you need that profile or someone adjacent who can grow into esports and events.
Then move quickly and clearly. Write the role around the risk, not a generic broker template: name the classes, the markets and the systems. Keep your process short and your feedback fast, because the best specialists are usually weighing more than one option. And widen the net beyond people with the exact job title today. Someone placing contingency, cyber or sports risk can often step across into esports faster than you'd expect.
This is where we fit. We search a database of 15 million candidates to find the specialist brokers, underwriters and support staff behind emerging covers like esports and events, then we rank a shortlist and manage the process end to end. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you're opening a desk for these new risks, tell Reed.ai what good looks like and we'll start building your shortlist today.
