Regulation continues to evolve. AI is beginning to change established the way people access and interpret information, and how some companies operate. 

At the same time, customer expectations, and the skills firms need, are shifting too. This presents a challenge for our industry.

Financial services firms need new capabilities and are looking beyond sector boundaries to find them. The number of new hires in financial services saw an uptick of 3% in 2025, according to the Financial Services Skills Commission. Firms are continuing to hire into technology, software and industry specialist roles, alongside a growing number of early career joiners. 

But as the industry becomes more complex, I would argue that understanding its fundamentals is becoming more important than ever for newcomers, rather than something lost in the age of AI. 

Understanding the industry you work in

Financial services can be a difficult industry to navigate when you first join it. From ALM to AUM, FCA to PRA or SMF to SMCR, there are no shortage of acronyms. And as an industry, we can be guilty of extremely complex technical language and jargon. But learning the language is only part of the challenge. To really understand the sector, you need to understand how the different parts fit together.

How do financial markets work? What role do different financial products play? Why is the sector regulated in the way it is? How are consumers protected? What does risk actually mean? And, most importantly, who are the customers and businesses the industry serves?

These may sound like basic questions. But the answers provide context for almost everything that follows in a financial services career.

If you understand why a regulation exists, you are better placed to interpret it. If you understand how a product works, you can better appreciate the risks attached to it. And if you understand the wider financial system, it becomes easier to see how the decisions made within one team or organisation connect to a much bigger picture. 

New skills still need strong foundations

This matters particularly as firms recruit people with skills developed outside financial services.

Someone may arrive with deep expertise in technology, data, communications or project management. They can add enormous value. But applying those skills effectively in financial services requires an understanding of the environment in which firms operate.

What works in FMCG, Manufacturing or Telecoms may need to be approached very differently in our idiosyncratic and regulated industry.

Foundational knowledge benefits firms too

There is also a clear business case for building financial services knowledge.

As firms recruit from a wider range of sectors and disciplines, they cannot assume every new employee arrives with an understanding of the industry. Leaving people to acquire that knowledge informally creates gaps, can make collaboration between functions harder and, in some cases, creates unnecessary risk. Giving employees a shared grounding helps create a common language and a better understanding of the wider organisation and industry.

For employees, it can provide the confidence to ask better questions, understand conversations outside their immediate role and identify where their expertise can have the greatest impact. In short, it is critical for innovation and improvement, as well as compliance.

Building careers on stronger foundations

The skills financial services needs will continue to change. New roles will emerge, technology will evolve and firms will continue to look beyond the sector for talent.

But wherever someone starts their FS career, and whatever specialist expertise they bring, there remains real value in understanding the industry they are joining. The stronger their foundations, the faster they can develop and progress. 

UK Finance's Introduction to Financial Services course is designed to give people that grounding, providing a practical overview of the industry, its products, markets, customers and regulatory environment.