Financial services urged to diversify staff

The National Skills Academy for Financial Services wants workforces to promote equality to ensure they better represent the communities they serve.

Chairman of the academy Anthony Thomson said: “We are constantly trying to create alternative talent entry schemes with firms so they can take advantage of the rich pool of potential new entrants that they do not access through their normal recruitment channels.”

Thomson said apprenticeship schemes for new entrants were an “excellent” way to prepare new applicants to be job-ready equipped with the correct attitudes and mind-sets to succeed.

He added: “I hope that is evening goes someway to demonstrating to employers that widening the diversity of the workforce is beneficial on so many levels.”