Financial Services

Overview

This page provides high-level information and data on the Financial Services industry, which comprises the following sectors:

Accounting and Bookkeeping
Banking and General Financial Services
Financial Markets and Planning
Insurance and Superannuation
Mortgage and Financial Broking
Specialised Financial Services.

For more information on any of the above sectors, please visit the respective sector page.

In 2018, there were over 800,000 people employed in Financial Services roles, accounting for over 6% cent of employment across the Australian economy. These workers touch the lives of most Australians who rely on the industry to manage their wealth and financial security.

Nationally recognised training for the Financial Services industry is delivered under the FNS – Financial Services Training Package. The FNS Training Package plays an important role in skilling workers to operate in this industry and sectors, offering 46 qualifications ranging from certificate I to graduate diploma.

The Financial Services industry has been through significant changes over the past decade, following extensive regulatory reform and the emergence of new technologies in the industry. Across all sectors of the Financial Services industry, it is increasingly necessary to build foundational financial skills for both learners and workers in subject matter areas such as ethical conduct, compliance and culture so they can easily transition between jobs and meet the rising standards of the industry.

Information sourced from the Financial Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.

All data sources are available at the end of the page.

IRC and Skills Forecast

Financial Services IRC

Employment and training snapshot

Employment in the Financial Services industry fluctuated between 2000 and 2019 but remained on an overall upwards trend. The employment level peaked in 2018 at 447,900, before declining to 439,700 in 2019. Employment is projected to grow to 459,200 by 2024.

Program enrolments and subject-only enrolments in Financial Services-related qualifications have declined between 2015 and 2018. There has been a gradual decline overall in program completions between 2015 and 2018. Enrolments in Financial Services-related qualifications were mostly at the certificate IV level or higher, with fewer enrolments below the certificate III level.

Industry insights on skills needs

The Financial Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast suggests the top priority skills for the Financial Services industry include health and safety skills, teamwork and communication, and problem solving skills. These are in addition to sector specific technical and multi-disciplinary skills. The top three generic skills focus primarily on soft skills including customer service, critical thinking, and learning agility. Data analysis is rated as the fourth most important generic skill for the sector.

According to the job vacancy data, the top generic skills requested by employers in the Financial Services industry were communication skills and building effective relationships. The most advertised occupations were Information Officers followed by Accountants. The top employers were the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Westpac Banking Corporation.

The above Skills Forecast highlights some of the key drivers of change for the Financial Services industry. These include demographic change, increased focus on ethical service and risk management, the impact of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, and technological change.

The ageing population will drive strong demand for health insurance, superannuation and financial advice over the medium to long term. Health and life insurance are likely to see the most growth off the back of the ageing population, with industry revenue projected to grow by 21% and 19% respectively over the next five years. Demographic changes will shape the insurance sector by increasing demand for health insurance, which will require a growing number of health insurance workers across the board, specialising in services for over 65s. Heavy reliance on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will require a multitude of workers and skills, such as insurance assessors, particularly with the ageing population driving demand (half of over 65s have a disability). The NDIS therefore presents a significant growth opportunity for training in this sector, requiring more insurance assessors specialising in assessments for people with disability.

Demographic changes will shape the superannuation sector by increasing the proportion of superannuation assets held in the retirement phase. Understanding the needs of a client in retirement and communicating risks will be vitally important to financial advisers in the sector. Demographic changes will drive demand for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). As the SMSF trend continues, financial services workers will play more of an advisory and transactional role in assisting SMSF members to manage their own funds, rather than managing the funds on the member's behalf.

Financial planning and advice is expected to grow through increased demand from older Australians seeking financial advice in their retirement. Demographic changes will shape the financial planning and advice sector by increasing demand for financial advice from superannuates, as growing post-retirement wealth creates a greater incentive to seek professional financial advice. The ability to assist clients through the potential emotional and psychological stress of retirement will be crucial. Strong demand for property is driving demand for mortgage brokers and general insurers, in addition to financial advisers.

Demographic changes will shape the trust administration sector through increasing focus on products required for the management of the financial affairs for ageing Australians who may no longer be able to make financial decisions for themselves, such as powers of attorney and financial administration orders.

Ultimately, an ageing population will lead to an increased demand for most professionals in the many Financial Services sectors. Workers with specialist knowledge to support retirees accessing services in these sectors, and people with a disability under the NDIS scheme will be highly sought after. Workers in the sector will need strong customer service skills and risk management skills to ensure that retirees have a stable income stream and are able to effectively manage their wealth.

A focus on ethical service and risk management is increasing across the Financial Services industry, driven by changes in the regulatory environment, professional standards and public scrutiny. This is likely to increase employers' demand for skills such as compliance and risk management, with workers needing to have a strong understanding of regulations and ethical standards and have up to date knowledge regarding changes in the industry.

Significant changes to the FASEA Education Pathways Policy came into effect from 1 January 2019. These changes are expected to have a large impact on the financial planning sector in the short-medium term.

As with many industries across the economy, emerging technologies are significant in shaping the future of the Financial Services industry. These technologies are often grouped together under the all-encompassing term of FinTech. These innovations are changing the services provided by the industry, as well as leading to the automation of many process-oriented roles in the industry and enabling more financial services in the gig and shared economies. Many technological advancements in the Financial Services industry are aimed at giving the consumer more knowledge and control of transactions and services, and the ability to conduct services for themselves, for example, internet and mobile banking allowing customers to manage their funds without going to a branch.

New technologies will require workers in specific sectors to be adaptable to change and learn the skills for new tools. These technologies all enable more data to be collected, leading to increased risks around managing and storing that data correctly and leading to a greater need for risk management skills and an understanding of regulatory controls around data protection and data management.

Alongside opportunities offered by new technologies, FinTech innovations are also likely to automate some tasks and roles currently undertaken by FNS graduates. For example, research has indicated that some administration roles within financial services and insurance have a high probability of being automated within this decade. While automation may lead to the complete replacement of some roles, requiring workers to move to higher skilled positions or exit the industry, it will also provide an opportunity for many workers to use different skills in related roles. In the Financial Services industry, changes to insurance or personal injury administration roles are leading workers to move away from processing claims to a more service oriented role focused on improving the customer's engagement with the company.

Therefore, flexibility and resilience skills will continue to be extremely important for graduates and workers adapting to technological change. Communication and other skills where humans generally have a competitive advantage over machines will be of particular importance, as these skills will help people transition between industries and roles within industries. Additionally, proficiency in computing skills, strong analytical skills, and adaptability to understand and embrace new technologies and work environments will enable workers to better prepare themselves for changing industry demands, particularly in the FinTech space with the increasing digitisation of products, platforms, and services.

For more detailed analysis of industry skills needs, see the Financial Services sector pages.

Links and resources

Data sources and notes

Department of Employment, 2018, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal

by ANZSIC 1 digit Financial and Insurance Services Industry, employment projections to May 2023.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, Employed persons by industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ06, viewed 1 November 2018 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202018?OpenDocument

Employed total by ANZSIC 1 digit Financial and Insurance Services Industry, 2000 to 2018, May Quarter.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training packages:

FNS and FNB – Financial Services Training Packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 program enrolments
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 subject enrolments
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 program completions.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.

FNS and FNB – Financial Services Training Packages apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:

2010 to 2018 commencements
2010 to 2018 completions
2018 apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2018 collection, by qualification and state and territory.

Priority skills data have been extracted from the Financial Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.

Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2019, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2019, https://www.burning-glass.com.

Data shown represent most requested generic skills, occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2016 and June 2019 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.

Generic skills/Occupations
- Financial and Insurance Services
Employers
- 5412 Information Officers
- 2211 Accountants
- 2247 Management and Organisation Analysts
- 5521 Bank Workers
- 2223 Financial Investment Advisers and Managers
- Financial and Insurance Services.

Updated: 31 Mar 2020

Financial Services

Sectors