We recently launched our much-anticipated Financial Services Hiring Trends Report which focuses on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector. The Report delves into how hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year, how hiring demand was split across the UK and what the most in demand roles were across the financial services sector.

But what did the data show us about trends in London?

Permanent finance vacancies

According to data from VacancySoft and reviewed by our expert recruiters, the hiring demand for permanent vacancies covering digital, technology, change and transformation in the UK financial services sector has remained highest across Greater London and the South-East of England.

In 2023 there were 2194 vacancies in Greater London, and then an equally high 2099 in 2024. Looking at the South-East region, there were 782 vacancies in 2023 followed by 769 in 2024.

These vacancies are miles ahead in numbers compared to the rest of the UK. For example, the North-West only saw 359 and 296 vacancies in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and the West Midlands only had 291 and 256. This confirms that London and surrounding areas are a real hub of talent and that there continues to be a real demand for talent in the financial services sector.

Hiring trends in London

London is one of Sanderson’s largest markets in the financial services sector, with our expertise spanning across General Insurance, London Market Insurance, Life & Pensions, Investment Management, Banking and Building Societies.

When you look at the hiring trends in this region across the world of Finance, it’s clear that London continues to lead the way in UK in digital, technology, change and transformation hiring in the financial services sector. Hiring demand in London has also been more resilient to the impact of external factors like political uncertainty and economic challenges. This is demonstrated by vacancies across the UK declining by 8.5%, whereas they only declined by 4.4% in London – a clear indicator that the market in London remained strong. Also, the trend we saw back in 2023 of a shift away from London towards regional hubs such as Manchester has slowed.

What will the future look like?

It’s clear that London is at the centre of hiring demand in the financial services sector. But what else should we be aware of in this region and sector?

One thing we’ll be keeping a close eye on is the return to the office, particularly in Financial Services firms in London. We’re already seeing more consistent patterns of 3 days per week in the office and a some of our clients returning to as many as 4 days in London across all roles regardless of whether they’re in digital, technology or transformation.

This is a marked swing back towards the majority of the week being spent in the office, and while hybrid working is here to stay, it does mean less choice for job seekers requiring more remote roles.

I’d therefore expect that we start to see less movement in this sector based purely on what hybrid working schedules companies are offering and instead see trends returning to a more level playing field with other factors in the job offering holding more weight as we progress through 2025/2026.

Next steps

Are you ready to find out more?

As we leave Q1 behind, now is the time to start thinking about enhancing operational efficiencies, addressing your skills gaps and supporting the reskilling of your existing workforce with the right blend of permanent employees, contractors and consultancies.

Arm yourself with data produced by Sanderson’s market-leading experts by downloading a copy of our Financial Services Hiring Trends Annual Report by filling out the short form below.

Have any further questions or considering how your London based business can get ahead of these hiring trends? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Joss Collins on [email protected]

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new hiring trends report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector in 2024.

This much anticipated report arms you with industry-leading data on how hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year, how hiring demand was split across the UK and what the most in demand roles were across the financial services sector.

It will have escaped no one’s attention that hiring trends in 2024 reflected a year of uncertainty. Thanks to economic challenges and political instability, the year saw many companies having to adopt a cautious approach to recruitment as business confidence was knocked.

Many companies in the financial services sector will currently be reassessing their hiring strategies in preparation for the changes in National Insurance contributions for employers set to take effect in April 2025, alongside ensuring they’re business strategies are aligned with the rapid digital transformation AI is bringing to the sector.

Now is the time to think about enhancing operational efficiencies, addressing your skills gaps and supporting the reskilling of your existing workforce with the right blend of permanent employees, contractors and consultancies.

This report, produced by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how the business context has been impacted in the past and provides our predictions for the future of hiring in the financial services sector.

Download your copy by filling out the short form below and get all the data you need in your back pocket.

Have any further questions on the trends discussed in this report? Don’t hesitate to contact William Boney at [email protected]

With over a decade of experience in the recruitment industry, Leah leads Sanderson’s Operations Delivery team, who specialise in Contact Centre hires for multiple large FCA regulated clients across the UK.  

The Operations Delivery team are experts in placing high quality candidates in a variety of positions that fall under both the Customer Service and Sales umbrellas, delivering both in volume and at pace, they thrive on absorbing each client’s culture and acting as an extension of their brand.  

Leah and her team understand that every customer is different and as such they will focus on designing and delivering a bespoke solution that successfully meets our client challenges and objectives. 

Here, Leah tells her story of working with a large client in the Financial Services sector who were experiencing an unprecedented demand in sales and customer service hiring, with 525 roles confirmed in Q1.  

What was the challenge?

The client needed a Project RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) partner who could mobilise quickly, adopt their process and technology, understand their culture and values, and deliver a package of 120 hires across some of their key locations. We were selected to do the work due to a combination of the existing relationship with the client and our knowledge of volume hiring capability. 

What did we achieve together?

• Rapid Mobilisation – The talent acquisition team and our team quickly organised a series of workshops to define requirements and agree solutions. Legal and Procurement teams worked swiftly and collaboratively to draft, agree, and sign an agreement within one week, maintaining the momentum of the project
• Orientation and Communication – The whole Sanderson team visited the client, spending time with the talent acquisition team, and meeting recent hires to quickly immerse themselves in the culture, values, and requirements. Both parties ran workshops with senior business stakeholders to explain the purpose of the project, the amended process and the quality control measures in place to ensure that hiring managers received the same quality of service that they enjoyed from the in-house team.
• Execution – We quickly adopted client processes, including brand, technology and diversity monitoring and worked as an extension of the talent acquisition team, providing daily progress reports, and attending team meetings to ensure the smooth running of the project. In addition to delivering the hiring project, we:
  • Invited the client into our offices to show them how we structure delivery and share our approach to talent pipelining and attracting passive candidates.
  • Provided advice, training, mentoring and guidance on the optimum model for talent acquisition at the client.
  • Provided ad hoc, support, guidance, and market intelligence to support our clients talent acquisition transformation programme.  

It is this transparency and partnership that has delivered the most long-lasting results.  

The client has adopted many of our recommendations as part of the restructure and has a renewed confidence that they have the structure, knowledge, and process to continue to deliver an outstanding service to the business in the post pandemic world.  

The immediate results have been exceptional

• Reduced stakeholder involvement (time) by 60%
• Cost per hire reduced by 28%
• Early indications of an increase in employee retention rates

What did the client say?

“The project not only fulfilled an immediate need but gave us a platform to learn and develop. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the contribution of Sanderson.” – Recruitment Manager 

Leah followed on to highlight that:  

“Fostering a strong partnership with our client was vital to the impressive outcomes on this Project RPO, both my teams hard work and our client’s willingness to embrace us as an extension of their team, was key to achieving our shared goals and driving success together. The true testament is the ongoing relationship we still have following the success and the end of the project! If you have any resourcing issues that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to reach out to me for an initial conversation on how we could support with a bespoke solution to suit your needs”. 

How Sanderson’s RPO Service Can Help You

We offer agile, scalable and flexible RPO solutions to address any permanent hiring need you may have.  

Whether you’re looking for a fully outsourced solution or need support on a project-by-project basis, Sanderson has the experience to attract, select, onboard, and retain the best permanent talent for you, always ensuring this will evolve in line with the changing needs of your business.  

Interested to find out more about our solutions and the benefits an RPO can provide? Download our RPO service brochure here, or why not check out our website.  

Get in touch

We’re always open to a chat to discuss how we may be able to help you achieve similar results, so please do reach out.