The Chancellor of the Exchequer used her annual Mansion House speech to unveil the Financial Services Skills Compact, a shared agreement between government, the Financial Services Skills Commission and industry, designed to tackle persistent skills shortages across UK financial services.
Twenty-two organisations, spanning high street banks, major insurers, building societies, investment managers, digital banks and trade bodies, have formally put their names to the pledge. Together, these signatories employ upwards of 250,000 people, and each has committed to investing in its workforce, building routes for fresh talent and cooperating to plug capability gaps across the industry.
Under the agreement, firms will train staff in AI and other essential competencies, expand structured entry pathways for newcomers, appoint a senior executive with accountability for narrowing skills shortfalls, and release yearly progress reports against their pledges.
The initiative arrives at a testing time for the sector, which provides jobs for roughly one million people across the UK and remains a key engine of economic growth. Firms are grappling with pressures from new technology, demographic shifts and changing customer demands, dynamics that the swift uptake of artificial intelligence and other disruptive tools has intensified.
The Compact was first announced by HM Treasury alongside the 2025 Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. The Financial Services Skills Commission has led its development, with backing from the City of London Corporation and TheCityUK.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Blake MP said, “The Skills Compact is a central part of our ambitious plans to address skills gaps, including more investment in critical skills and getting more people into financial services. The backing of more than 20 organisations is a significant opportunity to deliver the workforce skills that are fundamental to the UK sector’s competitiveness, innovation and global leadership.”
Financial Services Skills Commission chair Mark Hoban said, “Financial services is facing unprecedented disruption from AI and other technologies. Firms and the Government need to respond positively to this if the UK is to remain a world leading financial centre. We welcomed HM Treasury’s commitment last year to putting skills at the heart of the Competitiveness and Growth Strategy and today’s successful launch of the Skills Compact is the industry’s response to this challenge.”
Financial Services Skills Commission chief executive Claire Tunley added, “The Financial Services Skills Compact is the most significant agreement on skills between government and employers in a generation. Its timing couldn’t be more important. The sector is at a pivotal moment; it needs to close skills gaps by focussing on upskilling and reskilling its own people, building a pipeline of new talent, and promoting a culture of continuous learning.
“These early signatories are taking the lead, embracing highly ambitious commitments that will benefit at least a quarter of a million employees. The fact that more than 25 organisations have already signed the Skills Compact, including some of the largest firms in the UK, signals the importance of skills to productivity and economic growth.”
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