What can we learn from national skills frameworks for finance?
Among initiatives designed to future-proof the industry and its workers, seven skills stand out as critical for success
As the financial industry adapts to technological disruption, regulatory flux and shifting consumer wants and needs, new roles for workers will emerge, while existing ones will evolve or be rendered obsolete.
Firms increasingly recognize the need to be more proactive and methodical in their efforts to anticipate and bridge skills gaps, ensuring their workforce is prepared for changing job roles. Many are doing so by developing detailed skills taxonomies that track the skills they need, redoubling their reskilling and upskilling efforts to shore up their internal skills pipeline, and embracing skills-based hiring.
Because a robust financial industry is vital to the functioning of all economies, governmental and trade bodies in some countries have stepped in to provide frameworks of essential skills to guide firms and workers in their efforts to future-proof themselves.
Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore and the UK have recently published official skills frameworks to help their respective financial sectors thrive, along with action plans for firms and employees to develop the requisite skills for future success (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Financial skills framework around the world
| Country and organization | Framework | Key features |
| Australia: Future Skills Organisation |
Workforce Plan 2025 | • Highlights priority areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and software development, while calling for both generalist and specialist skill development. • Presents a strategic roadmap to address the country’s growing demand for skilled professionals in finance, technology and business. Emphasizes the urgency of bridging education-to-employment gaps and adapting training systems to meet evolving industry needs. |
| Ireland: Expert Group on Future Skills Needs | Irish Financial Services Skills Framework | • Identifies critical technical and professional skills across seven high-growth sub-sectors – including sustainable finance, fintech, and compliance – while addressing gaps in education, qualifications and talent mobility. • Provides a unified structure for upskilling, reskilling, and career progression, supported by a national skills dictionary and mapped training programs |
| Malaysia: Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers / Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia | Future Skills Framework | • Lists 157 in-demand skills, with a focus on emerging technologies, sustainability, cybersecurity and Shariah finance. • Offers targeted programs to support skills mastery and continuous learning. |
| Saudi Arabia: Financial and Insurance Services Sector Skills Council |
Financial and Insurance Services Sector Skills Framework | • Maps out job roles across banking, insurance, capital markets and fintech, aligning them with three tiers of competencies: technical, behavioral, and leadership. • Provides detailed career pathways, competency dictionaries, and scalable skill descriptions to guide talent development, upskilling, and workforce planning. |
| Scotland: Scottish Financial Enterprise | getinto.finance | • Outlines key skills under three key pillars: behavioral (adaptability empathy and resilience), technical (digital skills, data analytics and cybersecurity) and cognitive (critical thinking, problem solving and creativity). • Designed to help would-be finance professionals better understand the careers available in the industry and the skills that will be vital to performing them now and in the future. |
| Singapore: Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore | Skills Framework for Financial Services | • Focuses on emerging skills such as data analytics, digital fluency, human-centered design, and innovation, with a view to ensuring finance professionals remain agile and relevant in a tech-driven global landscape. • Enables individuals and employers to plan career progression and training pathways. Outlines critical work functions, technical competencies, and transferable core skills. |
| UK: Financial Services Skills Commission | Future Skills Framework | • Identifies 13 core technical skills and behaviors deemed critical for future success across banking, insurance, asset management, and fintech. These include digital literacy, data analysis, software development, coaching, and creative thinking. • Aimed at equipping the sector with the capabilities needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital and regulatory landscape. |
Source: CFA Institute research. Data correct as of August 2025
These frameworks serve as both diagnostic and planning tools, enabling firms to assess workforce capabilities, align talent development processes and build consistent career pathways.
The skills identified as critical for success in the years to come among these frameworks include:
1. Empathy
AI-driven efficiencies will lift the administrative burden of most front-office roles, leaving talent with more time to focus on the human aspects of their work and deepening client relationships. Traits like empathy, which can be taught, will become increasingly important competitive differentiators.
2. Communication and teamwork
Another critical human skill in a technology-driven future is communication. The insights generated by data and AI are only useful if they drive change. To achieve that, stakeholders need to be rallied behind the cause by sharing the message in a compelling way. This also involves active listening.
3. Digital skills and cybersecurity
The importance of understanding how to exploit data, AI and other new technologies to drive efficiency and innovation is widely accepted. But the urgency of bolstering cyber defenses has also come sharply into view, with most frameworks singling out cybersecurity as a vital future skill.
4. Technical skills
Finance-specific technical skills can’t be ignored. Saudi Arabia offers a very detailed list of technical skills required by the six main sub-sectors of banking, payments, financing, capital markets and insurance, ranked by proficiency levels. In asset management, for example, level one requires a general understanding of different asset classes and analysis tools, while level five extends to establishing and leading the strategic direction for asset management within the organization.
5. Risk management and regulatory compliance
The increasing complexity of the global financial system is being met with new regulations, risk management expectations and compliance requirements. Adhering to these will be crucial to avoiding pitfalls and maintaining trust in the years to come. Cultivating specific compliance skills could also pave the way to serve non-mainstream markets. Malaysia, for instance, is seeking to develop its Sharia compliance capabilities to better serve the rapidly expanding Islamic finance industry.
6. Coaching, mentoring and leadership
Firms will need leaders capable of navigating the challenges of an uncertain future. This requires a new approach to identifying and training leaders, who will increasingly need to be agents of change. This has led to coaching and mentorship becoming more important components of leadership style.
7. Adaptability and lifelong learning
The shelf life of skills is shrinking. This makes committing to lifelong learning essential to future success. This is not just up to organizations, and firms’ efforts can only go so far. Individuals, too, need to prioritize keeping up with the technology and trends reshaping their careers.
Some national skills frameworks, such as Saudi Arabia’s, have identified professional qualifications, such as the CFA® Program, that could help employees acquire the expertise they need to advance in certain roles or career pathways.
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