The entry points into tech are narrowing fast. The UK tech sector cut graduate jobs by 46 percent in the past year, with a further 53 percent drop projected The Register. Postings for junior roles are shrinking too: Adzuna has recorded a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT's launch, leaving graduates facing the toughest market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?.
At the same time, demand at the top end is climbing. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200 percent in a year, with London accounting for 80 percent of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all UK technology vacancies The Register (Accenture data). For fintech, that pull is sharp: the same skills that power lending models, fraud detection and payments sit in the most contested part of the market.
Fintech hiring skews senior and specialist. In financial services, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles rather than RQF 3 to 5 GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report, meaning employers are chasing degree-level and above expertise, not entry grades. RQF 6 is roughly degree level, so this is a market built around proven, regulated knowledge.
The gap between junior and senior demand shows up across adjacent fields too. In engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a nine-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. The pattern for fintech is clear: fewer open doors for newcomers, intense competition for people who can handle risk, compliance and data from day one.
When screening is automated, speed stops being the differentiator. Everyone can shortlist fast. What sets strong fintech teams apart is what happens after the offer: whether a new joiner can read your risk framework, pass compliance checks and ship safe work in weeks, not months. That is onboarding design, and it is now the part of the hire you control most.
Done well, onboarding design turns a good match into a retained, performing hire. In a market where senior fintech talent is scarce and expensive to find, keeping the people you hire is the real return.
We handle the screening so you can focus on onboarding. We search 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched people in under a minute and can book an interview in under three minutes. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. Start your fintech shortlist today.
