It's a careful market, and that shapes every decision a lean finance team makes. The wider labour market is best described as 'low hire, low fire', with weaker recruitment but only slight increases in redundancies, and vacancies have dropped below pre-pandemic levels the Low Pay Commission's 2025 report. For a small team, that means fewer open roles, so each one has to count.
Financial services is leaning towards experienced hires rather than junior ones. Recruitment in the sector was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5 the UK government's Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. In plain terms, firms are reaching for degree-level and above regulated expertise, not entry-level support.
That senior tilt sits against a tougher climate for new entrants everywhere. Adzuna has seen a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT's launch, with graduates facing the toughest job market since 2018 techUK's analysis of entry-level and graduate jobs. If you run a lean finance function, you're hiring fewer people who already know more, and asking them to do more with AI alongside them.
When headcount is tight, every person needs range. The sector's pull towards RQF 6+ roles means you're recruiting for qualified, regulated judgement first the Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. On a lean team, that same person often owns reporting, controls and compliance, so breadth matters as much as depth.
Agent fluency is the new layer on top. It's the ability to set a task for an AI agent, give it the right context, then review and correct what it produces. The way firms build these skills is changing: apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 the government's AI Labour Market Survey 2025. That's a signal you can grow agent fluency internally, not only buy it in.
Demand for the specialist skills behind these tools is real too. Businesses took a cautious approach to hiring, but there were demand hotspots for specialist skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. A finance team doesn't need to hire a data scientist, but it does need people comfortable working next to those tools.
Start with the judgement, not the tool. The market's preference for RQF 6+ roles tells you to anchor the hire in regulated expertise first, then test for the instinct to question an AI output rather than accept it the Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. In a regulated function, a wrong number signed off is the risk you're hiring to prevent.
Test agent fluency in the interview. Give a short, real task: a draft reconciliation or a first-pass variance commentary from an AI agent, and ask the person to spot what's wrong and why. With apprenticeships now making up 19% of AI hires, up from 3% in 2020, you can also plan to develop this skill in people you already trust the AI Labour Market Survey 2025.
Hire deliberately, because the market rewards patience. In a 'low hire, low fire' market with vacancies below pre-pandemic levels, you have time to define the role sharply and wait for the right person rather than the first available one the Low Pay Commission's 2025 report. For a lean team, one well-matched hire does more than two rushed ones.
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