Finance workers three times more likely to have parents in the same industry | Business

Two out of five people working in the UK banking sector have parents who also worked in the sector – more than three times the national average for other types of jobs.

About 41% of financial services employees had parents working in the same sector, compared to a national average of 12% in other sectors, according to a study by KPMG accountants. In insurance, more than half of the employees had followed their parents in the industry.

Tim Howarth, KPMG Financial Services Advisor, said, "The fact that people working in financial services are more than three times as likely as the national average to have followed their parents' careers is staggering. "

Howarth said the lack of diversity in the banking sector has resulted in "a narrow and narrow talent pool and insufficient social mobility".

Diversity in the banking sector is not expected to improve as youth working in financial services are even more likely to have followed their parents in the sector. According to a survey of 500 British financial services employees, about 55% of bankers aged 16 to 24 had parents who also worked in the industry, which was compared to the results for 1,000 British workers in other sectors.

The survey found that wages were the main motivation for people looking for a job in financial services. Some 31% stated that this was their main reason for working in the sector, compared to 16% who said that the most interesting job was the main driver and the same proportion of people who wanted the opportunity to progress in their careers. .

In addition to financial services, only 16% of workers said that wages were their main motivation for choosing their job.

The financial services sector employs about 2.3 million people in the United Kingdom, or one in 14 jobs, according to TheCityUK, a lobby group. While financial services are the main contributor to tax revenues in all sectors, the banking sector has been at the center of anti-inequality campaigns since the financial crisis just over a decade ago.

John Mann, a Labor MP on the Financial Services Selection Committee, said the lack of diversity in the banking sector is a "big challenge".

"His biggest problem was by far his cultural problem," he told Reuters. "That's what led to the collapse of several financial institutions. Cultural problems are reinforced by not bringing in more people. "

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would not consider a role in financial services. Of these, 41% said it was because the industry "looked boring", while 16% had mentioned a lack of contacts in the sector. Howarth said, "There is clearly a gap between what the public thinks and the realities of working in financial services (…) that must be taken into account if we want to attract the diversity of skills and skills. experiences needed to cope with ongoing changes. financial services and society. "