eFinancialCareers

Confidence in financial services recruitment in Scotland has dipped back to the dark days of post-9/11, but some areas could see double-digit pay rises.

Accountants, settlements professionals and those in investment operations, will be in the money to the tune of 15-20% more this year, according to research from recruiters Joslin Rowe and Scottish Enterprise.

The reason for the surge in salaries is simply a matter of supply and demand, says David Bond, managing director of headhunter Cairns Bond: “The reality is that the specialist skills are still hot, and there’s a short supply, so salaries tend to head upwards as a result.”

Investment operations are expected to see a rise in headcount, with the survey predicting a 5-10% rise.

Colin Grieve, senior consultant at Head Resourcing, adds: “A lot of large organisations that have historically had some sort of fund administration function here in Scotland are beginning to move their larger operational structures here, which has placed pressure on the existing talent pool.”

Despite the sub-prime crisis, Scottish firms remain relatively upbeat about 2008, with 76% of firms professing confidence – a hefty proportion for sure, but it’s the lowest since 2002.

Job cuts

Scotland also looks unlikely to escape redundancies – 9% of the firms surveyed said they planned to chop staff this year, with the life and pensions community most likely to fall victim to the axe.

However, looking at the bigger financial services picture in Scotland, Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland, believes there is reason for optimism: “Our survey was conducted in November during the height of the sub-prime fallout and I wonder what it would show if we were to take the temperature of the market this spring. There is no need to sound the death knell yet.”