eFinancialCareers

Financial services professionals are no longer the most in demand in Scotland, but recruiters insist the market is as active as ever.

The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report acts as a barometer of employment in the country, and shows that the number of financial services jobs in Scotland fell slightly in May.

In February, accounting and finance had the largest number of vacancies in Scotland. Now the sector ranks seventh out of eight for permanent roles and sixth for temporary positions.

Val Capell, senior consultant at recruiters Martin Ward Anderson, admits there has been a downturn: “The deteriorating situation with RBS and HBOS has had an effect. RBS drives recruitment in Edinburgh and they have not been taking on many people this year.”

While jobs are falling, candidate numbers are rising: according to the Bank of Scotland research, the number of permanent staff who are available to fill financial services vacancies is rising at the fastest rate since 2003.

Not everyone is full of doom. Capell says there are still talent shortages in Edinburgh. And recruiters Joslin Rowe say they had nearly 300 more permanent positions on their books for Scotland in May 2008 than in the same period last year.

Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland, says: “Demand for staff in Scotland continues to increase at a faster rate than the rest of the UK.”

Phil Booth, regional director at Robert Half in Edinburgh, adds: “We have not seen any significant slowdown in the demand for skilled finance professionals in Edinburgh’s financial services sector. We have also noticed that there is an increased demand for finance professionals with strong compliance and risk backgrounds.”