Top 5 critical skills in shortfall

The Kelly Skills at Work 2010 study uncovered a serious skills  shortage in the Banking and Finance Sector in the Asia Pacific region.

The five skills most in demand are also those considered most critical for mid to senior level managers across all industries.

Of all organisations surveyed,  88% said the shortage of staff with the right skills had a negative impact on their ability to serve clients.

As the FOFA reforms come into play for those readers giving financial advice, we will begin to see the real impact of this skill shortfall in terms of client attraction and retention.

If you’re an employer, you will find it increasingly difficult to identify and hire people with these critical skills.

The top 5 critical skills in shortage are:

1.  Communication including the critical abilities to

• build long-term, successful, professional relationships with clients, in addition to selling a product or service and
• communicate complex financial concepts to a non-finance audience in a simple and tactful way.

2.  Problem solving and decision making required for

• complying with high levels of regulation and
• dealing with environmental uncertainties.

3.  Strategic thinking to

• assess multiple external factors and
• develop and evaluate options.

4.  People Management with the ability to

• lead, motivate and inspire and
• ensure teams have the right balance of skills.

5.  Technical skills

• relevant, up to date and transferrable knowledge and
• an ability to deal with more sophisticated products and markets.

What has been your experience?  Have you suffered a skills shortage crisis?  Have you found effective ways of dealing with the skills shortage?  What are your plans for the future?  Please share your thoughts below.