Recruitment: Graduates shift focus to financial planning careers

THEY should be celebrating their transition from student to professional, but jobs for university graduates in banking and financial services have dropped a staggering 73 per cent in the past year, according to a new Job Index report by Olivier.

There are now reports some companies have delayed starting dates for graduate recruits, while others are reassessing the number of graduate positions they will be offering in 2009-10.

Macquarie Group has skirted a reduction in the number of graduates in this year’s program, a spokesperson told The Sydney Morning Herald, but “there may be some changes to start dates in a few isolated incidences”.

Despite these statistics, some argue there is still plenty of scope for young professionals and new graduates coming into the financial services profession.

Paul Williams, AXA Financial Planning national manager, said roles will change for recent graduates if the economy continues to worsen, but that there will be work available. Part of this is due to the ageing population in Australia.

“We have around 16,000 advisers in Australia and the average age is 55. One in five practice principals will retire in the next five years. Demand for advice will continue to grow. So unless we’re still attracting new advisers into the industry, there is going to be a gap,” Williams said.

He believes that even if things deteriorate slightly, it’s not going to impact adviser numbers.

But Hays Recruitment’s Jane McNeill is less optimistic about adviser numbers as the credit crunch really hits Australia.

“As we see fewer organisations recruit trainees into the business and train them up, as the market starts to pick up again, that skill shortage we’ve seen in recent years will be pronounced again.”

McNeill argued there will be fewer trainees, and “common sense dictates that when things pick up again there will be fewer good quality people around”.

The roles, however, are likely to change somewhat, Williams said.

“The nature of the roles will have a greater focus on client retention and more holistic advice. It’s not just about setting up an investment strategy, but about making sure clients are well protected.”

He said university graduates can “cut their teeth” on client services officer and client service adviser roles. They can then move more effectively into financial planning, and be better prepared for working with clients in a new economic climate.

“When markets are volatile, people generally gravitate back to university,” Williams said.

AXA, for one, is seeing a boost in the number of young graduates interested in becoming financial planners.

“There is a greater interest in it as a genuine career option. Graduates are seeing it more as a profession, rather than what it was a few years ago, when it was not considered a legitimate long-term career option,” Williams said.

Wayne Handley, general manger of adviser growth and succession at MLC, referred to the “serious shortage” of financial planners available 12 months ago. He said in an uncertain economy, qualifications like the PS 146 enable people to employ and give advice from a compliance perspective as soon as possible, making them much more employable themselves. And, he said, we’re likely to see an increase of financial planners coming out of the universities and schools as “firms lay off staff and people become planners to increase their employment chances”.

Hays’ McNeill said there has also been a levelling in candidates’ job and salary expectations. Up to two years ago, she said, candidates were getting multiple offers and demand outweighed supply, “but now, candidates expectations have come in line and they have had to realise it’s not all about them, but also what they can offer the business”.

Salaries have also stabilised, particularly in wealth management, which was inflated over the past few years because of the acute talent shortages, McNeill said. “Candidates’ expectations have come back down to normal levels.”

University graduates themselves are also expecting different things from an employer when they are looking for a job.

Recruiters and prospective employers need to be aware that young people will be interested in remuneration and career opportunities as they have been in the past, but will also be looking for secure organisations, according to Victoria Doherty, human resources manager at ING.

“Something that has come up on their radar is how [you have] dealt with your employees in these difficult times and whether you’re a stable organisation,” she said.

Doherty said those organisations that have managed their staff well in this environment are more likely to get the best candidates.

“Who gets the best juice of the talent is about those businesses that have managed things well in the bad times. People will remember who had the stability and how the employer operates.”