Malta’s financial services industry offers significant, diverse and varied career paths and opportunities, especially for young people and individuals with different backgrounds. While the industry already employs over 12,000 people in Malta, the need for skilled human resources is still on the increase.
‘Career Paths and Opportunities in Malta’s Financial Services Industry’ was the theme discussed during the second in a series of free interactive webinars organised by FinanceMalta to support the sector in the post-COVID-19 recovery period.
The theme of the webinar was in line with one of FinanceMalta’s strategic objectives for 2020, namely inclusivity and the ability to attract young people to the sector. In fact, FinanceMalta’s chairman Rudolph Psaila underlined the variety and extent of opportunities available in financial services in his welcome address that opened the webinar.
Psaila also stressed that, apart from studying at University or MCAST, individuals can also enrol in one of the various training institutions on the island or get employed by a financial services company which provides regular and ongoing training and qualifications. FinanceMalta’s chairman also said the industry is not only in need of the well-known areas of accounting, law, audit and tax, but there are some roles in very high demand, as is the case for fund administration, IT, marketing, money laundering report officers and support staff.
The webinar featured two guest speakers, Mirko Rapa, chairperson of the education sub-committee of the IFSP, and Melanie Pace, senior manager (people and culture) at MFSA.
Rapa gave an overview of the diverse job opportunities in the industry and explained the role of a financial services practitioner. He said that technical and functional skills, business and life skills, as well as experience are the three key areas required to be a professional in the financial services industry.
Pace focused her presentation on the regulator’s vision and expected growth in the financial services field. She outlined MFSA’s vision of being a leading, forward-looking financial services regulator, which has the respect and trust of the industry and the general public, while contributing towards a strong financial sector.
The webinar included also a video recently published by FinanceMalta as part of its #FMReachOut campaign to increase its digital presence and visibility. In the video, Ronald Attard, country managing partner at EY, speaks about his personal experience and says that deciding to start a career in the financial services industry could end up being one of the best decisions of one’s life.
The webinar was facilitated by Andrea Nurchi, FinanceMalta’s senior manager of business development, and included a Q&A session with the speakers.
The recording of the webinar is available at https:// financemalta.org/ news/career-paths-and-opportunities-in-maltas-financial-services-industry-video-presentations/.