The Future of Work: The Influence of FinTech on Careers for Tomorrow’s Workforce

According to one estimate, based on research sponsored by technology giant Dell Technologies, 85% of the jobs required by 2030 have not yet been invented. That’s just less than 9 years from today! So, here’s a sobering thought about tomorrow’s careers: How will today’s prospective lawyers, accountants, financial analysts, economists, bank managers and business leaders do their jobs tomorrow, if what they are likely to do isn’t yet defined? That’s a scary notion considering that, thanks to the confluence of multiple technologies, such as Business, Finance and Information Technology, the world has entered a phase of immense innovation and disruption.

Visualizing Tomorrow’s Workforce

Less than a decade ago, it was common to see long lines at a bank, waiting for a teller to complete a simple transaction. Today, thanks largely to online banking and disruptive self-serve banking Apps, those lines have gotten shorter with each passing month.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour statistics – the statistician for the world’s largest workforce – the number of bank tellers is expected to decline by 15% by the end of the current decade (2029). It’s not beyond reasonable to say that, by 2030, many of yesterday’s and today’s jobs, such as Cashiers and Bookkeepers, may no longer exist.

Tomorrow’s workforce will look markedly different than todays, just as today’s looks significantly different than yesterdays. And what’s likely to drive that transformation? It’s evolving business models:

• Online shopping versus in-store purchases
• Robots and digital “assistants” replacing human employees
• Digital currency and broader digitization of the economy
• Wider adoption of Big Data and data analytics to drive business decisions
• Tech-driven and tech-supported healthcare
• The influence of the Internet-of-things (IoT) on how businesses operate (order management, fulfillment, predictive maintenance)
• The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to build newer and better workplace productivity solutions

The subtext here is the predominance of technological drivers that’ll shape tomorrow’s workplace. Underpinning this workplace transformation is a demographic reality: An aging population. By 2030 the world will have 300 million more people in the 65+ age group than there were in 2014. By then (2030), Australia’s population is projected to reach 30 million – that’s 21.5% more Australian’s than there were in 2017. According to global consulting firm McKinsey, depending on the pace (slow, moderate, fast) of adoption, automation could displace anywhere between 10 million to 800 jobs as we know them today.

And this stark reality means that today’s politicians, educators, employers and business leaders need to give serious thought about what the future of the workforce will look like, and how do they develop a pipeline of prospective employees to meet that demand.

A Revolution in Learning and Teaching

Tomorrow’s workforce will be one categorized by rapidly changing business models. It’ll mean that workers will depend more on technology as an enabler, for them to do their jobs, than it is today. It is highly conceivable that workers will be highly mobile too – easily shifting their skills from one business/industry to another. In fact, the “new normal” will be for shared workforces, where workers with the required business, technology, technical and soft skills, work in multiple organizations simultaneously.

To build the workforce of tomorrow, and prepare professionals for their future careers (many of which don’t exist today!), schools, colleges and institutions of higher education will therefore need a paradigm shift in their approach to education. Instead of teaching what their students should learn, they’ll need to pivot to training them how to learn.

What does this mean for today’s professionals? It means they’ll require to position themselves for future career opportunities that lean towards technology; but that don’t solely focus on IT as the be-all and end-all. Today’s Finance graduates must understand that tomorrow (or by 2030), they’ll probably not have much to do with Fiat currencies. Their financial world will likely be all about digital assets, crypto currencies digital finance (DiFi). So, what “magical” combination of educational preparedness will it take to get the next-gen leader’s workforce ready today, for tomorrow’s challenges?

The Answer? Financial Technology

That (“Financial Technology”) refers to organisations blending newer and more innovative business models with new and emerging technology, to aid in enhancing and disrupting the traditional delivery of financial services. According to the EY FinTech Australia Census 2020 (conducted annually by consulting firm Ernst & Young Advisory Services), there are definitive signs of the continuing evolution of Australian fintech industry. 91% of industry players have been in operation for more than two years, with nearly 78% of them posting revenue.

That’s the good news. But, there’s a challenge on the horizon: A dearth of skilled fin-tech workers!

The lack of local skilled FinTech talent is prompting industry leaders to look elsewhere. The 2020 Census concluded that 72% (up from 66% in 2019) of the industry leaders surveyed believe that “…easier access to skilled migration would be an effective mechanism for growth” of the industry. Clearly, there’s pent-up demand for FinTech skills that are the future building block of tomorrow’s economies – not just for Australia, but globally.

Luckily, the Master of Financial Technology at UNSW Online is one program structured to create a pipeline of future front-line technologists, business managers and corporate leaders. Participants learn at Australia’s foremost educational institution – an institution that’s earned its elite reputation as a global top-50 online university.

Tailored with the right types of business, finance and technology curriculum, the Masters program is ideal for working professionals that wish to position themselves at the forefront of tomorrow’s workforce. It gives today’s professionals the competitive edge they require to lead Australian and global business through the use of disruptive, innovative and cutting-edge Fin Tech tomorrow.