Financial-services hiring has moved up the skills ladder. Recruitment in the sector was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5 GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. In plain terms, that points to degree-level and higher specialist positions, the kind of roles that sit behind open finance data flows.
The wider backdrop has been cautious. Against a subdued 2025 economic backdrop, businesses took a cautious approach to hiring, but there were demand hotspots for specialist tech skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). Open finance sits right in those hotspots, because it depends on secure data sharing between banks, fintechs and their customers.
The clearest signal is in analysis and architecture. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of 193k workers, are among the occupations in critical demand, with three out of five indicators in critical demand in 2025 Occupations in demand 2025, Explore Education Statistics, GOV.UK. These are the people who design how banking data is structured, moved and protected.
Entry routes are widening too. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. For banks building open finance capability, that means a growing talent pipeline that blends experienced specialists with trained-on-the-job data and AI skills.
Start with the skills, not the job title. Open finance work spans data engineering, analysis, systems design and security, so define the specific capabilities you need before you write the advert. With specialist tech skills in high demand across AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026), a precise brief helps you compete for scarce people.
Then widen your pipeline. Keep senior, degree-level hiring open while you also build earlier-career routes, because apprenticeship hiring has grown sharply in AI roles GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. Move quickly and communicate clearly: in-demand specialists have choices, so a slow or vague process loses them.
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